Witness History
Witness History
The assassination of Burundian President Melchior Ndadaye
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February 2, 2023
13 minutes
Available for over a year
In July 1993, Melchior Ndadaye became Burundi’s first democratically elected president.
He was also the first president to come from the country’s Hutu majority.
For decades up to that point, Burundi had been ruled by a small group of individuals drawn from the among the Tutsi minority. President Ndadaye had come to power promising a new vision for Burundi.
But within months he was murdered by soldiers.
Rob Walker hears from Jean-Marie Ngendahayo who was Minister of Communications in President Ndadaye’s government.
(Photo: A relative of Melchior Ndadaye holding a photo of him at his funeral. Credit: Getty Images)