In Burundi, youth find their voice as president clings to power

Burundi’s protesters want to stop President Pierre Nkurunziza from seeking a third term because they see him as a repressive, divisive leader incapable of reducing extreme poverty, and say the move is unconstitutional. On the frontlines of the protest movement that erupted in April are civil society groups, the main anti-government force since the opposition boycotted the 2010 vote, led mainly by students. Students say the government closed the University of Burundi because the campus had become ground zero for dissent: a place where Burundi’s best and brightest could meet, organize, and speak out against the president and his ruling party.

If you criticize the government you are the enemy of the country.

Professor Nkurunziza, University of Burundi

The protests are a reckoning for a country where 46 percent of the population is under the age of 15, and only an annual average of 18 percent enroll into secondary school. With no end in sight for the protest, and an escalating situation on the streets, the stakes are high for protesting youth here who want a different future for their country and are going toe-to-toe with a government that is increasingly intolerant of dissent. Corruption heavily plagues Burundi, which is ranked 159th out of 175 countries by watchdog Transparency International.

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