Burundi: First Republic (1966 - 1976)

Updated April 2005

Micombero governance was marked by the accelerated purging of Hutus from the army and the state and the consolidation of the Tutsi elite's dominance in the economy and higher education, and specifically domination by Tutsis from the Bururi province (Mthembu-Salter 2002, Kimber 1996).

In 1969 a bloody purge of Hutus from the military followed an alleged Hutu coup attempt. This increasing marginalization of Hutus led to growing popular discontent. Similarly another alleged coup attempt provided the opportunity to imprison rival Tutsi leaders from Muramvya province (Institute for Security Studies 2005).

In 1972 localised massacres of Tutsis resulted in widespread reprisals on Hutus by the army, which was by now wholly Tutsi controlled. About 150 000 - 200 000 Hutus are believed to have died, and 150 000 - 300 000 fled the country. The entire Hutu intelligentsia had been killed or exiled (Nkurunziza & Ngaruko 2002, 17-19).

Micombero attempted to suppress dissent and create a show of national unity by imposing a one-party state (Uprona), under his centralised direction, on Burundi. In reality, however, Burundi was effectively under military rule (Bayefsky.com 1992).

This façade masked deep regional divisions within the Tutsi ruling elite and the army, and especially among the ruling Bururi Tutsis, as they struggled for control over state incomes and resources.

From independence the Burundian economy had been in a downward spiral. The withdrawal of Belgian expertise and capital and the loss of access to markets in the Congo and Rwanda shrank the industrial base of the economy, while growth and investment was strangled by social conflict and the use of the state by ruling factions as a means for private wealth accumulation (Nkurunziza & Ngaruko 2002, 5).

In 1976 Micombero was deposed by the military. Led by Jean-Baptiste Bagaza, the new government promised to end the military rule and to create a democracy sensitive to social justice.

References

BAYEFSKY.COM 1992 "Core reports: Burundi", [www] http://www.bayefsky.com/core/hri_core_1_add_16_1992.php [opens new window] (accessed 22 Oct 2007).

INSTITUTE FOR SECURITY STUDIES 2005 "Burundi: Political System and history", [www] http://www.iss.co.za/AF/profiles/Burundi/Politics.html [opens new window] (accessed 22 Oct 2007).

KIMBER, C 1996 "Coming to terms with barbarism in Rwanda and Burundi" IN International Socialism 73, December, [www] http://pubs.socialistreviewindex.org.uk/isj73/kimber.htm [opens new window] (accessed 22 Oct 2007)

MTHEMBU-SALTER, G 2002 "Self-Determination Regional Conflict Profile: Burundi" IN Self determination in focus, Foreign Policy In Focus, [www] http://www.selfdetermine.org/conflicts/burundi_body.html [opens new window] (accessed 22 Oct 2007).

NKURUNZIZA, JD & NGARUKO, F 2002, 17-19 "Explaining Growth in Burundi: 1960-2000 (Draft)", Centre for the Study of African Economies, [www] http://www.csae.ox.ac.uk/workingpapers/pdfs/2002-03text.pdf [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 22 Oct 2007).