Burundi: Why was the 1994 government concerned with protecting chimpanzees more than Tutsis who survived the 1993 genocide?
The event that marks the recent history of Burundi takes place between 1994 and 1995, (the precise date will be given in our next editions): 30 chimpanzees removed from the Kibira are embarked, bound for Kenya. Reason: to protect them from the crisis in the country. They became Burundian refugees in Kenya.
Minister Jean Marie Niyokindi of the Burundian government of October 2019 said, during oral questions in parliament dated 16 October 2019, that there were 20 chimpanzees instead of 30: ”There are 20 chimpanzees that Burundi took refuge in Nanyuki Park in Kenya during the 1994 crisis with agreements to share tourism revenue that these animals would generate Burundi received nothing,” he said. First cheating.
Perhaps the minister did not have a lot of information on this file. Our sources tell us that these chimpanzees left in two slices. They boarded 10 at first and 20 in a second round (instead of 10; which would make a total of 20 that the minister was referring to). They were gathered near Chanic in a hangar; then placed in suitable cages and boarded planes to Kenya.
Well-informed sources have told us that these are 30 chimpanzees instead of 20 that were mentioned in an agreement that was reportedly signed between Kenya, the Burundian foreign minister at the time and INCN, the institution in charge of environmental protection. They are now in the Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary, aljazeera journalist’s report, who saw a chimpanzee from Burundi named Poco, 37. They are called chimpanzees without borders because they come from several countries including Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan, Congo, Mozambique, the United Arab Emirates and even Iraq.
26 years later, some sources say that there are now 96 from Burundi and that only one is believed to have died. This figure also seems very insignificant to us; unless they have been affected by the birth control policy. For what interest since they need rather that they are numerous to attract a lot of tourists and bring in foreign exchange. In other words, this figure may be false. In this famous agreement that was signed, it would be stipulated that a Burundian doctor should visit them once every three months, but our sources tell us that no one has set foot there since 1994. That’s what’s also worrying.
Here, there are many questions to be asked: the government is talking about 20 chimpanzees that have been rescued in Kenya. Where would the other 10 be since it is known that they were removed from the Kibira and boarded a plane? Were they sold? Are they with the others, but are not counted? How many are actually today after so many years? How much do they earn per year in terms of dollars? On which accounts would tourism revenues be paid since Minister Niyokindi said in 2019 that the government has so far received nothing? How can we think of protecting chimpanzees in this time of war instead of thinking first of the Tutsis who were in the camps of displaced people, threatened with extermination by the genocidals of 1993 who wanted to make disappear the troublesome witnesses (the survivors)?
To the last question, the answer may appear very simple: the authorities at the time had nothing different from the genocidals who wanted to put an end to these Tutsis who survived the 1993 genocide; there is no indication that these authorities were not among the planners of this genocide because the UN report S/1996/682 of 22 August 1996 clearly states that what happened in 1993 was a genocide of the Tutsis planned and executed by Hutu of Frodebu. For these authorities, therefore, the chimpanzees that make money were more important than the surviving Tutsis, which should instead be left at the mercy of the same killers who disguised themselves as rebels after the 1993 genocide.
We are not yet able to answer all these other questions, but we are continuing our research to shed light on this issue. Every Burundian or Kenyan (we also have the English version) who receives our publications is called to help us to enlighten the opinion.
Burundi is last in the sub-region in terms of tourism investment. For example, (raised in this oral question-and-answer session in parliament on 16 October 2019), Tanzania received $2 billion, while Burundi received only $160 million from tourism in 2017 alone.
However, our country has 2 national parks (Kibira and Ruvubu) and 5 nature reserves as well as many other tourist sites that can provide us with a lot of revenue in terms of dollars.
URN HITAMWONEZA believes that the country is poor because it has always lacked enlightened leadership that loves Burundi. Many chefs have always prioritized their personal interests over the public interest. For the specific case of these chimpanzees in Kenya, we must all work together to gather all the necessary data on this file to find out the amount of fees that should go back to Burundi, to reassure us whether they have been paid to the public treasury or not. If so, on which account? And if there has been a hijacking, know who was responsible. We are not ready to let our guard down, we will have to pursue this matter until the truth is known and if there has been embezzlement, those responsible will be punished and the money returned to the state coffers. WhatsApp contact: +31685638237
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