South Africa:The expulsion of a Burundi diplomat

Bujumbura — Burundi’s foreign minister on Saturday said one of his
country’s diplomats had been expelled from South Africa, though the
reason was not immediately clear.

The move comes after South Africa and Rwanda issued tit-for-tat
diplomatic expulsions on Friday amid a row over the attempted
assassination of an exiled Rwandan general in Johannesburg.

“South Africa has expelled Jean-Claude Sindayigaya, the first
secretary of the embassy of Burundi,” Foreign Minister Laurent
Kavakure told AFP. “We don’t yet know the motive behind this
decision.”

A South African official confirmed the expulsion of the Burundian
diplomat but declined to give details.

Sindayigaya left South Africa on Friday, Kavakure said.

“We are waiting to know more before reacting,” he added.

Sindayigaya’s expulsion was also confirmed by Burundi’s ambassador to
South Africa Isaie Ntirizoshira.

“They said his actions were injurious to state security. He is gone
already,” he said.

Ntirizoshira did not give any further explanation for the expulsion.

AFP