Maj. Gen. Evariste Ndayishimiye has Thursday been sworn in as the new President of the Republic of Burundi for a 7 year term.
This marks Burundi’s first ever and historic peaceful transition after 58 years of Independence.
President Ndayishimiye replaces Pierre Nkurunziza who suddenly passed on before he could step down on 20th August.
Nkurunziza’s death threw the struggling nation into power vacuum and fears were high Burundi could slip into another conflict.
However, cabinet took stance to seek Constitutional Court’s advice on who assumes the Presidency since there was an elected President waiting to receive instruments of power. Court therefore ordered that the elected leader be sworn in immediately.
Ndayishimiye was elected in May in a vote disputed by the opposition, and was meant to take office in August, however the inauguration was sped up after his predecessor passed on.
His swearing-in ceremony has taken place at the Ingoma stadium in the administrative capital Gitega, with the public asked to arrive early to allow time for coronavirus measures such as hand-washing and temperature checks.
Diplomats and representatives of international organisations have been invited, however Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi is expected to be the only head of state attending, due to the ongoing pandemic.
Nkurunziza, who ruled the east Africa nation for 15 often tumultuous years, was said by the government to have died of a heart attack last week.
However the 55-year-old took ill less than two weeks after his wife had been flown to a Nairobi hospital for treatment for coronavirus, according to a medical document seen by AFP, and speculation is rife he may have caught the virus.
A medical source told AFP he had suffered “respiratory distress” before dying.
Compared to its neighbours which imposed lockdowns and curfews — with the exception of equally skeptical Tanzania — Burundi has taken few measures to combat the virus.
The country last month expelled a team of World Health Organization experts who were supporting the country’s response to the epidemic.