Opposition leader flees Burundi

2010-07-27 11:12

Bujumbura - A senior opposition politician has fled Burundi for fear of arrest and even his life after he complained about the military, his coalition said on Monday.

Leonard Nyangoma, head of the National Council for the Defence of Democracy, was last seen in the capital several days ago, the coalition and said a person close to him.

Nyangoma, a former rebel in his late fifties, is also spokesperson for the opposition coalition Democratic Alliance for Change of a dozen parties that have boycotted elections since May over allegations of fraud.

"He fled the country three or four days ago because the authorities are looking to arrest him, but also because he feared for his life," coalition leader Alexis Sinduhije said.

The defence minister had laid a charge against Nyangoma following his signing of a coalition statement accusing the army of a "massacre" at Ruziba, south of Bujumbura, about two weeks ago, he said.

No arrest warrant

"Officially, it is because of the Ruziba case in which Mr Nyangoma signed a statement as the spokesperson of the ADC," Sinduhije said.

The army had sent combat helicopters and troops to Ruziba to arrest the presumed killers of two members of the ruling party.

The minister, General Germain Niyoyankana, had laid the charge and complained of "slander that is abject, absurd and ridiculous", alleging the aim was to incite the army to revolt.

A senior police official said on condition of anonymity there was no arrest warrant out for Nyangoma.

Burundi held parliamentary elections on Friday, the third polls in a voting marathon supposed to consolidate democracy as the country emerges from a 1993 - 2006 civil war that killed 300 000 people.

But the opposition has boycotted the votes since community elections on May 24 which it alleged were rigged in favour of President Pierre Nkurunziza's ruling party.

Former rebel leader Agathon Rwasa, who had been regarded as Nkurunziza's main rival in the June presidential election, has also gone into hiding. He said in an audio statement he feared for his life after claiming the polls were fixed.

Nkurunziza was the sole candidate in the presidential vote and took more than 90% of the votes.

- SAPA