President Ntaryamira Day 2023: Date, History, Facts about Burundi

President Ntaryamira Day is celebrated annually on April 6 in the Republic of Burundi. A solemn day commemorating the anniversary of President Cyprien Ntaryamira’s demise in 1994. Parliament elected Ntaryamira as the next president of Burundi in early 1994, following the assassination of President Melchior Ndadaye, who was elected democratically for the first time in June 1993. Sadly, both President Ntaryamira and Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana perished in a plane accident in Rwanda on April 6, 1994. These events ushered in one of the darkest periods in African history, the Rwandan Genocide. Burundi’s government offices, institutions, and businesses are closed on this day in observance of a solemn anniversary.

The background of President Ntaryamira Day

Cyprien Ntaryamira, who was born in Burundi on March 6, 1955, received training as an agricultural engineer. In 1993, the Front for Democracy in Burundi (FRODEBU) won Burundi’s general elections, which he co-founded in 1986. The success of Burundi’s first genuinely democratic election, in which Melchior Ndadaye was elected president, is largely attributed to FRODEBU. In July 1993, Ntaryamira was designated Minister of Agriculture. However, the dominant Tutsis felt threatened by the Hutu electoral victory. After only three months in office, Tutsi soldiers assassinated President Ndadaye (a Hutu) and other senior officials. Following Ndadaye’s untimely passing, the Burundian Parliament elected Ntaryamira (also Hutu) as the new president. On February 5, 1994, Ntaryamira was inaugurated as president, and he laboured to restore national unity, peace, and human rights.

President Ntaryamira was viewed as a “moderate reformer,” and he appeared to have the support of the populace. Unfortunately, on the evening of April 6, 1994, as Ntaryamira and Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana (also a Hutu) prepared to land at Kigali International Airport, Rwanda, the airliner was shot down by missiles. The tragic deaths of the two Hutu presidents sparked the horrific Rwandan genocide, one of the most tragic events of the late 20th century. The identities of the assassins remain unknown, and there are numerous hypotheses as to who actually murdered both Hutu national leaders.

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5 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT BURUNDI

In 1996, Burundi won its first gold medal in Olympic history when Vénuste Niyongabo finished first in the 5,000-meter race.

The Burundi Parliament decided in 2019 to designate Gitega, the country’s second-largest city, the country’s political capital, while Bujumbura remains the country’s economic capital.

About 5.2% of the population of Burundi has internet access.

Gustave, a man-eating crocodile liable for hundreds of deaths, is thought to inhabit Lake Tanganyika.

Since 2014, President Pierre Nkurunziza has made group jogging unlawful, ostensibly because it could be used to plan anti-government rebellions.

PRESIDENT NTARYAMIRA DAY DATES

Year	Date	Day
2023	April 6	Thursday
2024	April 6	Saturday
2025	April 6	Sunday
2026	April 6	Monday
2027	April 6	Tuesday