BURUNDI: IS RADJABU'S POLITICAL FATE HANGING IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUJUMBURA 000038 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/C E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/24/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR PINR BY SA SUBJECT: BURUNDI: IS RADJABU'S POLITICAL FATE HANGING IN THE BALANCE? REF: A. BUJUMBURA 32 ¶B. PRETORIA 254 Classified By: Ambassador Patricia Moller for Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D.) ¶1. (C) Summary: The power struggle between Burundian strongman Hussein Radjabu and the country's President continues to dominate headlines, as government journalists report that the President's office has barred one of his key allies, Communications Minister Ramadhan Karenga, from entering government radio and television studios. The South African Embassy denied that Radjabu had requested asylum in South Africa, but its diplomats provided few specifics of its discussions with Radjabu during his overnight stay in the South African Embassy. The CNDD-FDD's spokesperson suggested that the party might seek to advance the date of its upcoming party conference; observers are divided on whether Radjabu can maintain control of the party. Some observers, and CNDD-FDD members themselves, have suggested that many believe that the party's continued unity, and indeed its survival, is key to Burundi's continued stability; this concern may cause many to continue to support Radjabu, albeit grudgingly, rather than risk a period of political instability. End Summary. ¶2. (C) A day after he left the South African Embassy, ruling CNDD-FDD party head Hussein Radjabu is coming under increasing pressure in political circles. CNDD-FDD spokesperson Evariste Nsabiyumva, who is also the head of the party's group of Parliamentarians, told journalists in January 23 that the party's planned extraordinary session, now planned for February 24, could be changed to an earlier date. Radjabu has advocated holding the conference as scheduled. An advisor to the First Vice President's office told an Embassy staffer privately that the session could be held as early as February 3 or 4. Nsabiyumva also told reporters that, although a few members of the party had petitioned President Nkurunziza to act as a mediator between CNDD-FDD members, he did not believe that the opinions of those members would alter the party's objectives. ¶3. (U) Radjabu, who has come under increasing criticism from party members, gave an interview to journalists at the government-owned Burundian National Radio and Television (RTNB),according to reporters there. However, the journalists told another Embassy staffer, himself a former journalist, that the President's office ordered RTNB not to broadcast any statements from Radjabu. The RTNB journalists added that the President's office also ordered them not to allow Minister of Communications Ramadhan Karenga, a Radjabu ally, onto the RTNB compound. Radjabu's Sojourn at the Embassy -------------- ¶4. (C) The South African Charge, Zabantu Ngcobo (protect), confirmed on January 23 that Radjabu did not ask South Africa for asylum during his overnight stay at South Africa's Embassy in Bujumbura on January 22. The Charge indicated that Radjabu contacted the Embassy on the morning of January 22, saying that he wished to provide the Charge a briefing of political developments. Radjabu and an advisor arrived at the Embassy shortly before noon; Minister of Communications Karenga joined him later. Radjabu talked for several hours, but the Charge characterized much of what he said as non-substantive. The session continued so long, said the Charge, that she eventually ordered out for sandwiches for the group. (Comment: Ms. Ngcobo, a close Embassy contact who is normally very forthcoming, carefully avoided providing any details of Radjabu's commentary, nor did she confirm whether he had made any specific requests for assistance. Her unusual reticence suggests that South Africa is still developing its own position on the Burundian political crisis, and may be reviewing what if anything it can do to influence the situation. End Comment.) ¶5. (U) Finally, continued Ms. Ngcobo, Radjabu and his party prepared to leave, but as they were preparing to enter their vehicles, Radjabu received a flurry of telephone calls. He told Ms. Ngcobo that he had just learned of a change in his bodyguards, and that he feared for his personal safety. He then reentered the Embassy, along with one of his advisors, and announced that he could not depart until he received guarantees of security. ¶6. (C) The Charge likened Radjabu's mood, and that of his colleagues, to that commonly found at a traditional African wake, a very somber occasion at which typically little conversation takes place. Radjabu and his advisor remained together in one room, speaking little, rarely even looking at one another. She periodically joined them in their vigil, sometimes exchanging pleasantries but rarely communicating directly with her guests. Radjabu and his colleague turned in early, at about nine o'clock, sleeping on mattresses which Embassy staffers provided. ¶7. (C) Following a telephone call providing assurances for his personal safety, Radjabu left the Embassy on Tuesday morning, January 23, saying that he planned to return to his home. The Charge did not indicate whether her government had intervened either with the Burundian government or with Radjabu himself to effect his departure. What Next? -------------- ¶8. (C) South Africa's Charge opined that, although many of the party's rank and file fervently oppose Radjabu and his policies, many of the party's leadership remain supportive. Radjabu's ability to retain his position, she suggested, will depend on whether party members will turn out en masse to vote during the party conference. Ms. Ngcobo believed that senior leadership would seek to exert strong pressure on less senior members to vote for Radjabu, or simply to not vote at all. Similarly, she believed that National Assembly Speaker Immaculee Nahayo would support Radjabu, despite allegations that he may have been complicit in her late husband's sudden death. Neighbors Watch with Concern -------------- ¶9. (C) Uganda's Ambassador to Burundi, in a visit with the Ambassador on January 24, indicated that following a call from Congolese president Kabila, his President had called President Nkurunziza to express concern about events in Burundi and their possible impact on regional stability. In response, Nkurunziza characterized the events as a political crisis, but one that his government could successfully manage without a return to violence. Comment -------------- ¶10. (C) As rumors about Radjabu's political future continue to swirl around the capital, opinion is divided as to whether he can retain a leadership position in the party. Speaker Nahayo's apparent, although perhaps grudging, support of Radjabu appears incongruous, but it underscores a principle which many in Burundian government have repeatedly emphasized, even prior to this latest crisis: the CNDD-FDD party as a whole is greater than the sum of its parts. In this country where the lines between the government and the ruling party are often blurred, many CNDD-FDD members believe that, should the party solidarity begin to unravel, the government -- and Burundi's nascent democracy -- could do so as well. Accordingly, in an effort to ensure continued stability, the party's leaders may be willing to accept certain differences in order to maintain a united front. End Comment. MOLLER