The former governor of the Central Bank of Burundi has been arrested and is facing charges of “passive corruption” and “misappropriation of public property,” as stated in a press release from the Ministry of Justice.
Dieudonné Murengerantwari, who was dismissed from his position, is accused of actions that allegedly disrupted the national economy, involved passive corruption, money laundering, and misappropriation of public assets. These charges are described as provisional.
Murengerantwari is currently undergoing interrogation, and the press release assures that these proceedings are being conducted with strict adherence to his rights. He had been appointed to the position in August 2022 for a five-year term.
Since President Évariste Ndayishimiye came to power in 2020, Burundi has seen a mixture of signals regarding the regime’s openness, coupled with continued influence from powerful “generals,” and firm control of power, often criticized for human rights violations by NGOs.
Ndayishimiye succeeded Pierre Nkurunziza, who held an iron grip on the country from 2005 until his death in 2020.
Alain-Guillaume Bunyoni, the former Prime Minister of Burundi from June 2020 to September 2022, was arrested in April and accused of undermining national security.
His trial commenced at the end of September.
Burundi, a landlocked nation in the Great Lakes region, is considered the world’s poorest country in terms of GDP per capita, with 75% of its 12 million people living below the international poverty line, according to the World Bank.