For years, the CNDD-FDD presented a united front to the world. But beneath the surface, a silent war for the control of the party is brewing. On one side sits President Evariste Ndayishimiye, looking increasingly isolated. On the other stands the rising tide of Reverien Ndikuriyo, the Secretary General of the CNDD-FDD, who has quietly transformed from a loyal soldier into a genuine political threat.
Ndayishimiye is terrified. And he should be. His fear is not of the opposition, but of the overwhelming, almost fanatical support that Ndikuriyo now commands. The source of this power? The Imbonerakure.
Everyone knows the Imbonerakure are the party’s muscle. But today, their loyalty is shifting. These young men and women are part of a growing class of disenfranchised Burundians—kids with no jobs, no prospects, and no hope for a decent living. They are angry. They look at their lives of poverty and see that Ndayishimiye has done nothing to change their circumstances.
Ndikuriyo speaks their language. He gives them a narrative, a sense of destiny. And with the Imbonerakure behind Ndikuriyo, Ndayishimiye senses that the balance of power is shifting.
But why is Ndayishimiye so vulnerable? His rule has been a catalog of economic disaster. Every single sector is in freefall. Agriculture is down, leaving families hungry. Trade has collapsed under the weight of ill-thought economic policies. Inflation eats away what little salaries remain. The man inherited a struggling economy and drove it off a cliff. There is no “development” to campaign on, only decline.
Desperate to distract from domestic failure, Ndayishimiye doubled down on adventurism in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He thought a foreign war would rally the flag. It has backfired spectacularly. The war in the Congo is deeply unpopular. It drains scarce state resources—money meant for hospitals and roads is being burned on bullets and fuel for a war he cannot win. It kills young Burundian soldiers whose families are left with nothing: no compensation, no support, not even a proper burial for their loved ones. It destroys the economy. Trade with both the DRC and Rwanda has been heavily impacted by the conflict.
All for what? For the ego of one man?
Consider the recent catastrophic ammunition depot explosion in Bujumbura. The official narrative blames an accident. But ask yourself: who benefits from disrupting the military’s logistics?
That explosion was the work of an insider. It was a targeted act of sabotage, intended to cripple logistics and prevent further military deployments to the DRC. It was a message to Ndayishimiye.
Inside the CNDD-FDD, many are now convinced that Ndikuriyo represents the only viable alternative to a man who has proven incapable of leading. The rumors of a coup attempt or an imminent party rebellion are no longer just gossip.
And how does Ndayishimiye respond? He panics.
Ndayishimiye has just moved up the ceremony meant to crown the party’s candidate for the 2027 presidential elections. It was scheduled for early next year. Suddenly, it has been rushed in an attempt to consolidate his shaky position.
But the face-off is far from over, and the trajectory is predictable. Ndayishimiye is sitting on a volcano. The Imbonerakure are restless, the economy is shattered, and the army is bleeding. If the soldiers in the barracks, watching their brothers die in Congo and their neighbors starve at home, decide that Ndikuriyo is the answer, then Ndayishimiye is finished.
The crown is slipping, and the hand catching it belongs to Reverien Ndikuriyo.
ellenkampire