Burundi: Braving bullets: Excessive force in policing demonstrations in Burundi
On 26 April 2015, demonstrations broke out in Burundi’s capital, Bujumbura, and continued until mid-June to protest against President Pierre Nkurunziza’s decision to run for a third term in the July 2015 elections. Political tensions ran high as many Burundians saw this bid as unconstitutional and a violation of the 2000 Arusha Agreement which had brought an end to the country’s civil war. Despite preparations to manage public assemblies during the electoral period, the government imposed a blanket ban on demonstrations.