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South Africa was prepared to offer asylum to Burundi’s president, Pierre Nkurunziza, if he stepped down and refrained from seeking a third term in office.
This offer was made in late-night closed-door discussions after a meeting of East African Community (EAC) leaders in Tanzania on Wednesday to discuss the crisis in Burundi.
The EAC meeting was also attended by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and coincided with a coup attempt against Nkurunziza in the Burundian capital of Bujumbura.
Tanzania’s president, Jakaya Kikwete, who chairs the EAC, held talks with Nkurunziza behind closed doors at State House, his official residence in Dar es Salaam, where the possibility of asylum for Nkurunziza in South Africa was discussed.
No South Africans were present at the talks, but the idea had strong support among east African leaders.
The State House meeting came shortly after Nkurunziza, who was in Tanzania for the meeting, but didn’t attend it, was refused re-entry into Burundi by the coup plotters.
“They had a long talk until midnight on Wednesday,” said a source who was there.
Nkurunziza declined the offer and managed to sneak back into Burundi a day later because the coup attempt had failed.
But Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Ronnie Mamoepa, yesterday denied that South Africa had offered Nkurunziza asylum.
“South Africa remains committed to be guided by the views of the region, with particular reference to the need to bring an end to violence, the killing and maiming of people, and the displacement of people. We have committed ourselves to act with the region to interact with all other stakeholders to ensure the elections are held within the term of office,” he said.
South Africa has been making moves to convince Nkurunziza to step aside. Five days before the EAC meeting, President Jacob Zuma sent Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe to persuade Nkurunziza to withdraw as a candidate for Burundi’s presidential elections on June 26.
President Zuma told the SABC his message to Nkurunziza was “that it would be more appropriate and perhaps correct for him, even if he has won the constitutional point in court. But for the sake of Burundi, it would be good if he withdrew as a candidate so that Burundi cannot go to war again.”
Zuma was instrumental in brokering a peace deal in Burundi when he was deputy president.
But Nkurunziza told Burundians in a public address on Friday that he would not step aside.
He said he was “committed to respect” a ruling by his country’s Constitutional Court that his bid for another term of office was constitutional, as he was elected by his Parliament and not by the people for his first five-year term in 2005.
“I wish to inform the national and international opinion that, if re-elected, this will be the final term, as provided in the ruling of the Constitutional Court,” he said.
He also did not say if the EAC’s call to postpone the elections would be considered.
The EAC said in a communiqué on Wednesday that Burundi needed more time to create conditions conducive to elections after protests against Nkurunziza’s third-term bid saw 20 people killed and thousands fleeing the country.
Former intelligence chief and army general Godefroid Niyombare, who led the attempted coup, was reportedly arrested on Friday after Nkurunziza’s return.
Ramaphosa said South Africa was “deeply concerned” about the events in Burundi because they went against efforts by late Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere as well as Nelson Mandela and Zuma to bring peace to Burundi in the late 1990s.
“They created a very good and strong foundation for peace and stability in Burundi. So these events are spoiling and soiling that wonderful legacy of peace, democracy and stability. That is what concerns us,” he said.
He said this was why he had attended the EAC meeting. He added there were fears of the Burundi violence spilling over into the region.
International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane on Friday said South Africa condemned the coup attempt because it would have resulted in an unconstitutional change of government – something that would have led to sanctions by the African Union (AU).
The AU said this week it could put into operation its regional standby forces earlier than the planned date in December to intervene in Burundi.
“East African Community leaders met in Dar es Salaam and ... if we want to secure the situation and prepare a better atmosphere for elections, they might think about deploying the east African force to help,” said Smail Chergui, AU commissioner for peace and security.
SA, happy refuge for leaders
Should he have accepted asylum, Burundi’s Pierre Nkurunziza would not have been the first unwanted African president or dissident to seek refuge in South Africa.
Others came before him:
. Ousted Madagascan president Marc Ravalomanana came to South Africa in 2009 after he was ousted in a military-backed coup, but returned home last year of his own accord.
. Former Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide, his family and aides stayed in South Africa from 2004 to 2011 at the state’s expense as foreign distinguished guests of the state after being ousted in a coup. They did not apply for asylum.
. Veteran Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye in 2001 sought asylum in South Africa after a failed presidential bid. He returned four years later after supporting the formation of an opposition party, which got a third of the votes.
. Rwandan exiled former general Kayumba Nyamwasa reportedly got fast-tracked refugee status after getting on the wrong side of President Paul Kagame. This is being challenged in court. Nyamwasa is also sought by Spain and France for war crimes linked to the 1994 genocide.
