Burundi: Ex-Premier Bunyoni arrested on coup allegations

Burundi authorities have arrested former Prime Minister Alain Guillaume Bunyoni, who was on the run following an arrest warrant in connection to alleged coup against incumbent leader Evariste Ndayishimiye.

The Eastern African country’s ministry of Justice announced Sunday the arrest of Bunyoni who was sacked in September.

“Alain Guillaume Bunyoni is currently in the hands of the police,” read the statement signed by General Prosecutor Sylvestre Nyandwi.

The statement said he was arrested Friday in capital Bujumbura, without providing further details.

The country’s human rights Commission stated that its representatives had visited the former official in detention who had not been subjected to any abuse.

“He is doing well. He has not suffered any act of torture or any other abuse since his arrest. His family has been notified. The process is following its normal course,” the organization said in a statement.

Burundi authorities launched an official search for Bunyoni early last week, after reports said he had left his home in Bujumbura under threat of arrest.

The former Internal Security Minister Bunyoni was Prime Minister from June 2020 to September 2022, when President Ndayishimiye sacked him amid reports of an alleged coup plot.