General Gervais Ndirakobuca was unanimously confirmed as the new Prime Minister of Burundi by lawmakers on Wednesday.
The 113 MPs approved the proposal of president Evariste Ndayishimiye who appointed Ndirakobuca to replace Alain Guillaume Bunyoni.
This move comes days after the president warned of a coup plot against him without ever naming any suspects.
Burundi’s Presidential palace unveiled the decree on Wednesday afternoon.
#Burundi Décret N• 100/105 du 07 septembre 2022 portant Nomination du Premier Ministre. pic.twitter.com/pb32srOFeN
— Ntare Rushatsi House (@NtareHouse) September 7, 2022
Since 2020, Gervais Ndirakobuca has headed the ministry of the interior, community development, and public security.
The 52-year-old was sanctioned by Europe and the US in 2015 for allegedly “silencing those opposed” to former president Pierre Nkurunziza’s third term bid.
Ndirakobuca is one of the former rebellion’s prominent generals which now leads the eastern African country.
According to Africanews, during the civil war which killed approximately 300.000 Burundians between 1993 and 2006, Ndirakobuca acquired an infamous nickname: Ndakugarika which means “I will floor you stone dead” in kirundi, the national language.
The ruling CNDD-FDD party pledged to boost Burundi’ development when President Ndayishimiye came to power in 2020.
