A Kenyan dignitary, the veteran politician Musalia Mudavadi has expressed shock after visiting Burundi and seeing with his own eyes what a failed state it is.
Mudavadi was in Bujumbura in Bujumbura recently to attend the COMESA summit. The event, which was intended to bring together heads of states and high-ranking officials from across the region, ended up leaving not only Mudavadi, but every other foreign delegate astonished by the dilapidation, poverty, and general dysfunction of Burundi under “DD” rule.
One of the grimmest things that Mudavadi remarked on was the total lack of motor vehicle fuel.
Speaking back home in Kenya during a thanksgiving prayer Mudavadi, the prime cabinet secretary of government, remarked: “I don’t want to name the country, but two days ago we were in this country that has no fuel, no petrol, where public transport has completely collapsed!”
Though he had, due to reasons of diplomacy, declined to say “Burundi”, it was clear that’s what he was referring to, as he had accompanied Kenyan President William Ruto to the COMESA Summit.
Mudavadi’s comment sparked commentary on social media among Burundians, with many Burundi regime sycophants expressing faux outrage at the Kenyan dignitary’s words. But, as they say, truth is bitter!
Also, the truth is apparent to even the blind, upon arrival in Bujumbura.
For those arriving by air the city’s airport, with its old, outdated, and dilapidated arrivals lounge sets the tone for what lays ahead.
VIPs were greeted on a shabby red carpet, symbolic of Burundi’s struggles to keep up with even basic amenities. It underscored the visible decay in infrastructure, reflecting a country whose economy long ago collapsed. No wonder even their president Evaristo Ndayishimiye “Gen. Neva” is reduced to asking for “lifts” when traveling abroad.
In Bujumbura one of the first issues delegates faced was the fire shortage of fuel. Even the vehicles designated for summit delegates were rationed on fuel.
(As for ordinary Burundians, they “died” long ago. Very long vehicle queues at petrol stations are part of life. People walking horrendous distances to work is the norm. Should you fall sick, they will transport you by wheelbarrow, to some “hospital” that’s a hospital only in name. No medicines of course, and doctors are beggars that demand small bribes for everything – space on a smelly bed, bandage, syringe, aspirin, anything!
From the dilapidated infrastructure to the limited resources available to welcome guests, the COMESA summit mirrored the reality of a country in acute crisis.
But Gen. Neva and his “DD” ruling party have only one ability: looting.
Terrible!
ellenkampire