Nairobi : President of Kenya and of the East African Community (EAC), Uhuru Kenyatta, on Monday asked Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza to postpone June’s presidential election in the country, which just witnessed a coup attempt following violent protests in recent weeks, Efe news agency reported.
Kenyatta made the call to Nkurunziza a day after the leader’s first public appearance since last week’s coup attempt, during which he expressed his concern about the threat posed by Al Shabaab in Burundi, but entirely avoiding the subject of the military uprising that called for his ouster.
“President Kenyatta, in a phone call, urged Burundi leader Pierre Nkurunziza to postpone the polls,” Kenyan presidential spokesman Manoah Esipisu confirmed through Twitter.
Kenyatta, according to Esipisu, spoke on behalf of the leaders of East Africa, who held a summit on Wednesday in Dar-es-Salaam, the commercial capital of Tanzania, to address the conflict in Burundi.
However, Nkurunziza missed the meeting when he learned that a military general had announced a coup in his country.
“President Kenyatta urged President Pierre Nkurunziza to heed and act in line with the statement issued by EAC summit last week,” Esipisu said.
During Wednesday’s meeting, the heads of state of the five EAC countries condemned the coup in Burundi and demanded a return to constitutional order.
Protests erupted in Burundi after Nkurunziza announced his unconstitutional run for a third presidential term in June’s election several weeks ago, while the situation was made worse by the heavy-handed suppression of protesters, resulting in the deaths of 20 people.