“There is no one who can do better than Kenyans in terms of sex, corruption, and marathon”, these are the words of Burundi President Nkurunziza describing Kenyans.
Pierre Nkurunziza is a Burundian politician who has been President of Burundi since 2005. Notably, the head of state says in the last 10 years the Kenyan economy has remained stagnant. In his remarks, he points out the numerous scandals and corruption in Kenya.
Pierre says that he doesn’t understand why Kenya has the highest level of corruption in Africa and among the top in the world. In 2015, Nkurunziza was controversially nominated by his party for a third term in office. Supporters and opponents of Nkurunziza disagreed as to whether it was legal for him to run again, and protests followed.
More than two months of anti-Nkurunziza protests, which were often violently repressed, left at least 100 dead. On 13 May 2015, a coup attempt against Nkurunziza occurred while he was out of the country; the coup leader, Godefroid Niyombare, claimed to have ousted Nkurunziza, although Nkurunziza loyalists disputed the claim.
Facing resistance from Nkurunziza loyalists, the coup collapsed and forces loyal to Nkurunziza appeared to be back in full control by 15 May. Independent media was shut down and many opponents fled, joining an exodus of more than 400,000 Burundians.