Ezechiel Nibigira, former Foreign Minister of Burundi, has been named the new president of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS).
He was appointed to a five year mandate during a meeting held in Equatorial Guinea on Sunday, taking over from Angola’s Gilberto Verissimo.
Nibigira, who holds a doctorate in business administration and finance, is a parliamentarian for Burundi’s ruling CNDD-FDD and a prominent figure in the party. His past positions include serving as Burundi’s ambassador to Kenya and as Minister in of the East African Community.
The challenges set before him are evident, with the current security crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo at the forefront. Burundi, a close country to the DRC, faces strained ties with Rwanda, accused of backing the M23 rebel movement against Kinshasa’s forces. In protest, Kigali withdrew from ECCAS, claiming the community was biased in favor of the DRC amid the conflict.
Beyond regional tensions, Nibigira must also work with institutional reforms and rebuild the commission’s credibility, which has been destroyed by accusations of mismanagement.
