SAN FRANCISCO, January 01, (THEWILL) – An unknown gunman has killed Emmanuel Niyonkuru, Burundi's Environment Minister in the conflict-ridden East African nation. Burundi's environment minister was shot dead in the capital Bujumbura early Sunday, police said, the first assassination of its kind since the country was plunged into political turmoil in 2015. Niyonkuru, 54, the country's water, environment and planning minister, was "killed by a criminal with a gun on his way home to Rohero, around 00:45," according to a tweet sent by police spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye. The murder, the first of a serving government minister since Burundi sank into turmoil over President Pierre Nkurunziza's controversial bid for a third term in 2015, comes after months of relative calm. Tweets from Pierre Nkurikiye said a woman who was with Mr Niyonkuru had been detained for questioning, following the “assassination”.
A gunman shoots dead Burundi's environment minister Emmanuel Niyonkuru in the nation's capital, Bujumbura.