The public prosecutor on Wednesday accused General Bunyoni of harming the national economy. He reported that the former prime minister held a significant amount of foreign currency at his home. He provided his currency to a criminal enterprise to kill President à ‰variste Ndayishimiye in particular, according to the prosecution. The defendant rejected all the allegations made against him.
Today, 11th september 2023, the public prosecutor requested a life prison sentence for General Alain Guillaume Bunyoni and 30 years in prison for six other people prosecuted in the same case as him.
Yesterday, public prosecutor said that General Bunyoni gave foreign currency to police colonel Désiré Uwamahoro, former commander of the Anti-Riot Brigade, with the aim of “overthrowing the constitutional regime”.
He spoke of currencies that were kept at the residence of the former prime minister, instead of being placed in the bank.
According to the public prosecutor, this way of keeping foreign currencies at one’s residence destabilized the exchange rate in the small East African nation.
“No law prevents me from keeping bank notes at my home to meet my needs,” retorted General Bunyoni.
In the hearing on November 8, he also had to justify himself on the illegal taking of interests.
Here, the public prosecutor spoke of a building rental contract between Hyacinthe Niyonkuru (Wife of Bunyoni) and the government of Burundi. The building, located in Sororezo in the commercial city Bujumbura, is reserved for 15 million Burundian francs per month, according to the prosecution.
For the public prosecutor, the fact that General Bunyoni is legally married to Hyacinthe Niyonkuru and that Burundi recognizes community property, he benefited from the interests of this contract.
The former prime minister quickly reacted, saying that the ministry of public security of which he was head never negotiated the award of the contract. He added that “I never signed any commitments in the contract as the then Minister of Public Security.”
According to Bunyoni, his wife signed a contract with the ministries of public works and finance.
“The Ministry of Public Security is just a simple occupier,” he defended.
Désiré Uwamahoro and Samuel Destiné Bapfumukeko
Police Colonel Désiré Uwamahoro and Burundian intelligence officer Samuel Destiné Bapfumukeko justified themselves on “the violation of professional secrets”.
The first is suspected of having revealed to General Bunyoni a plan aimed at arresting him at the same time as the second is accused of having revealed the plan to arrest the former prime minister and search in General Bunyoni’s house.
He is also accused of having continued to inform Bunyoni about the actions undertaken by the SNR (National Intelligence Service) during his escape. Both men denied the accusations.
