Burundian president appointed African Union Special Envoy for Sahel

On July 17th, the President of Burundi, Évariste Ndayishimiye, was appointed Special Envoy of the African Union for the Sahel, as reported by Radio France Internationale on July 18th. 

Mr. Ndayishimiye’s mission will be to intensify exchanges with governments and work towards restoring peace in the Sahel, where three countries – Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso – are facing the threat of jihadism and have been suspended from the organization following unconstitutional changes of government. 

The Burundian president immediately reacted on X, announcing that he would accept “with humility and responsibility (…) the noble mission” entrusted to him. According to a diplomatic source in Bujumbura, his appointment as African Union Special Envoy for the Sahel is a reward for his efforts to bring Burundi out of the isolation into which his predecessor had plunged it.

Very involved in regional and continental organizations, Évariste Ndayishimiye is, for example, the current chairman of COMESA, the African Union’s champion for youth, and the organisation’s first vice-chairman. He will therefore automatically take over as head of the African Union in February next year.

“This is one of the reasons why the Angolan president nominated him,” explains an African diplomatic source. “He will have a freer hand to carry out his mission”, they added.

The decision follows the Union’s plans to appoint heads of state to deal with certain crises. This was the case with the Togolese president for the crisis in the east of the DRC. There was also a need for a president with no track record in the Sahel region.

João Lourenço chose Évariste Ndayishimiye because he is a military man. Another source stated: “He will be able to speak on an equal footing with the leaders of the Alliance of Sahel States”.

Finally, these same sources confirm that the Burundian president has received “active but discreet support” from France’s Emmanuel Macron, whom he met in June on the sidelines of the United Nations Conference on the Ocean.

The appointment comes at a time of high tension for some of the Sahel countries, with Burkina Faso’s military junta being accused of mass killings, and jihadist violence still at large.

Radio France Internationale, Maghrebi.org