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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |
BURUNDI: Former VP, ex-rebel leader arrested over coup plot
BUJUMBURA, 1 Aug 2006 (IRIN) - Burundian secret service agents arrested eight people on Tuesday, including a former vice-president and a former rebel leader, over claims they were planning a coup against President Pierre Nkurunziza.
Attorney-General Jean Bosco Ndikumana confirmed the arrests but said: "This case involves so many people. That is why giving details now may interfere with the proceedings."
He said he would provide details at a later stage.
Aloys Rubuka, chairman of the opposition Union pour le progrès national (UPRONA) party, of which former Vice-President Alphonse Marie Kadege is a member, said the authorities had not given the party a reason for Kadege's arrest.
"Sources say he [Kadege] has been arrested on charges of destabilising [state] institutions," Rubuka said. "We do not know if there is any proof for the accusation, but we are closely following this arrest."
Kadege was vice-president during the second phase of the country's transitional period, which ended in August 2005. He was relieved of his duties in April 2005, just months before the elections, which saw Nkurunziza's Conseil national de défense de la démocratie-Forces de défense de la démocratie (CNDD-FDD) assume power. The CNDD-FDD was initially a rebel movement but became a political party after a peace agreement with the then transitional government.
Before Kadege's arrest, police detained a former rebel leader, Alain Mugabarabona, on Monday, as well as three members of his party, the Forces nationales de libération-Icanzo (FNL-Icanzo), a former rebel group. Among those arrested with Mugabarabona was his brother-in-law. The FNL-Icanzo is one of the six former rebel movements that fought the government before signing a ceasefire.
Also arrested were two officials of the main opposition party, the Front pour la démocratie au Burundi (FRODEBU). Another party leader arrested over suspected involvement in the coup plot was Déo Niyonzima, the vice-president of the Parti pour la réconciliation du peuple (PRP).
The police temporarily impounded the home of Pancrace Cimpaye, the FRODEBU spokesman. Cimpaye was spokesman for former President Domitien Ndayizeye, who headed the country's second phase of the transition. Police also sequestered the home of Isaïe Simbare, a former chief of protocol during Ndayizeye's administration.
FRODEBU Secretary-General Euphrasie Bigirimana said this action against the FRODEBU officials was "nothing but the continuation by the CNDD-FDD government to [disregard] the rights of FRODEBU members, and those who are not in their party".
She said the party had not been told why party members' property had been impounded.
Meanwhile, the FNL-Icanzo spokesman, Charles Kabagambe, said the party leader had been arrested after secret service agents sealed off both Mugabarabona's home and the party's headquarters.
"They had a warrant of arrest, issued by the attorney-general, on which we could read that he [Mugabarabona] had to be arrested following accusations of destabilising home security," Kabagambe said.
Kabagambe said police removed the party's computers and confiscated mobile phones in Mugabarabona's home.
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This material comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. All materials copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2006
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