Burundi's ex-Prime Minister provisionally freed on medical grounds

Burundi's former Prime Minister General Alain-Guillaume Bunyoni, serving a life sentence for conspiracy against the head of state, was provisionally released Wednesday for medical reasons, judicial sources and relatives confirmed.

Bunyoni, hospitalized since October 2025 at Gitega regional hospital, was granted provisional freedom due to his deteriorating health.

An ambulance transported him to his Bujumbura home around midday. "His condition is more than worrying," a relative told AFP.

The diabetic general suffered loss of motor skills and speech in prison, where he was long deprived of adequate care, according to prison sources and rights groups.

Political context

Once considered the regime's de facto number two and hardliner leader under ex-president Pierre Nkurunziza, Bunyoni was appointed prime minister in June 2020 by President Evariste Ndayishimiye.

He was dismissed in September 2022, days after Ndayishimiye denounced an alleged coup plot.

In December 2023, he was convicted of attempting to overthrow the government, threatening the president's life, illegal enrichment, and economic destabilization.

He denied all charges.

Ruling party generals had demanded his release. President Ndayishimiye "resolved to free him to reunite his camp," an anonymous source explained.