Pierre Nkurunziza

[Vicarious Thrillseeker]

Burundi president dies of 'cardiac arrest' at 55

His wife currently being treated for COVID-19 in Nairobi

[San Bernardhinault]

Burundian Presidents dying in office hasn't always had great outcomes. Is there any risk here?

I know nothing of Nkurunziza. Was he one of the good guys? One of the people the west claims are good guys but has all kinds of dodgy stuff around him (hello, Paul Kagame!)? Or actually rotten?

[Diable Rouge]

Like many African countries (including, as you say, Rwanda), a quasi one-party state, but the recent presidential election at least saw the main opposition party participating.

[Vicarious Thrillseeker]

Burundi is probably the poorest country I've ever visited. Last time I was there in 2018, the streets were full of military, oficially there to guard against a Rwandese invasion, but they were looking for opposition personnel. Nkurunziza was bad news, and it's only because he wasn't able to change the constitution that he was about to stand down - he wanted to be 'President for Life'.

His wife was taken to Nairobi with coronavirus 10 days ago, and is still undergoing treatment. Official statement is that he died of a heart attack yesterday, but if it's not COVID-19, I'll be having a hat-shaped breakfast very soon

[Tactical Genius]

What's the negative stuff about Kagame, All I know about him are some impressive speeches and Rwanda apparently coming out of the civil war and doing a good job of rebuilding.

[Vicarious Thrillseeker]

What's the negative stuff about Kagame, All I know about him are some impressive speeches and Rwanda apparently coming out of the civil war and doing a good job of rebuilding.

Depends which side you're on. Absolute state control - disappearace of any opposition (including assassination in South Africa and the UK). Many friends have fallen foul of government control and found themselves being deported within 48 hours. Kagame is also accused by some of delaying his return to Rwanda in 1994 to further his chances of success, thus ensuring many more died in the genocide

[San Bernardhinault]

And the Rwandan economic miracle is - as I understand it - substantially based on being shoveled tons of cash by a very guilty feeling Bill Clinton, and subsequently guilty feeling US State Department. Him being the poster child for free market economics after defeating the genocidal regime meant that the Blairs and Clintons of the world got loads of reflected glory when they did stuff with him, so it was also mutually beneficial to keep the cash flowing in, to ignore the post genocide racial problems, and so on...

[Vicarious Thrillseeker]

Anyway - Nkurunziza is the only PE teacher ever to ban jogging, fact fans.

[Tactical Genius]

And the Rwandan economic miracle is - as I understand it - substantially based on being shoveled tons of cash by a very guilty feeling Bill Clinton, and subsequently guilty feeling US State Department. Him being the poster child for free market economics after defeating the genocidal regime meant that the Blairs and Clintons of the world got loads of reflected glory when they did stuff with him, so it was also mutually beneficial to keep the cash flowing in, to ignore the post genocide racial problems, and so on...

Ah, thanks for that.