Burundi’s Supreme Court on Thursday reserved judgment in a closely watched case that will determine who legally leads the opposition National Congress for Liberty (CNL), with a ruling expected within two months.
The case concerns competing claims to the leadership of one of Burundi’s largest opposition parties. It was brought by 10 members of the CNL’s 2019 political bureau, represented by former party leader Agathon Rwasa, who are challenging the legality of an extraordinary party congress held in March 2024 that removed Rwasa from office and elected Nestor Girukwishaka as CNL president. The respondents are the party’s current leadership, which argues the congress was conducted in accordance with the party’s statutes and was later recognized by Burundi’s Ministry of Interior.
The Administrative Chamber of the Supreme Court heard the case Thursday. Lawyers representing the current CNL leadership appeared before the court, while the applicants did not attend the hearing.
The court said the hearing could proceed because administrative cases are conducted under a written procedure, meaning the absence of one party does not prevent the proceedings from continuing. After hearing submissions from those present, the judges took the matter under advisement and said a ruling would be issued within two months.
Following the hearing, the current CNL leadership issued a two-page statement explaining why it had not participated in the public hearing, saying it had already notified the Supreme Court that the case remained at a preliminary procedural stage.
“The defense submitted correspondence to the Supreme Court, as provided by the law governing this court, pointing out that the case is still at the procedural stage and that the Court is still considering the preliminary objections,” the statement said.
The party argued that it was premature for the court to proceed with a public hearing before ruling on those procedural objections.
It also questioned why the applicants consisted of only 10 individuals despite the extraordinary congress having drawn more than 1,400 delegates.
“To date, the defense does not understand how the applicants selected ten people from among the more than 1,400 delegates who participated in the Extraordinary Congress of March 10, 2024, nor the criteria used to make that selection,” the statement said.
The current leadership also defended the legitimacy of Girukwishaka’s presidency, arguing that the extraordinary congress lawfully replaced Rwasa and that the Ministry of Interior later endorsed the outcome.
“The former president of the CNL Party was replaced by the decision of the Extraordinary Congress, a decision subsequently endorsed by the authority responsible for political parties,” the statement said.
The communiqué further questioned why Rwasa continued to claim the party presidency.
“If the former president believes he suffered an injustice, then he should challenge the decision of the minister responsible for political parties, since it was the minister who endorsed the decisions of the Extraordinary Congress,” the statement said.
The party also alleged that previous court hearings had been accompanied by intimidation targeting its members.
“Every time the Supreme Court has convened a hearing in this case, there have been attempts to disrupt the security of the defense through physical assaults, banging on vehicles, attempts to break vehicle windows, insults and other hostile behavior,” the statement alleged.
Burundi Times has not independently verified those allegations.
A dispute dating back to 2024
The leadership dispute began after an extraordinary CNL congress held on March 10, 2024, where delegates voted to remove Rwasa as party president and elected Girukwishaka to succeed him. The Ministry of Interior formally recognized the new leadership the following month, but Rwasa and members of the party’s 2019 political bureau rejected both the congress and the ministry’s decision, arguing that the party’s statutes were violated.
Rwasa, one of Burundi’s best-known opposition politicians, founded the CNL after years leading the National Liberation Forces (FNL) and headed the party during the 2020 presidential election, where he finished second behind President Évariste Ndayishimiye. Since his removal from the CNL leadership, he has maintained that he remains the party’s legitimate president, while the current leadership argues the matter was settled by the extraordinary congress and subsequent government recognition.
The Supreme Court’s ruling is expected to provide the clearest legal determination yet on the rival claims to the CNL leadership. Beyond deciding who has the legal authority to represent the party, the judgment could shape the future of one of Burundi’s principal opposition movements as political parties begin positioning themselves for the country’s next electoral cycle.
