Ndayishimiye took office earlier this month after the sudden death of veteran leader Pierre Nkurunziza. Many Burundians had hoped for a new era after years of rights abuses, repression and violence.
However Ndayishimiye, an army general handpicked by the ruling party to succeed Nkurunziza, has placed some of the regime's most controversial characters in his government, in the cabinet announced on Sunday.
According to an announcement on national television, Gervais Ndirakobuca, head of the feared national intelligence services, was named interior minister.
Décret présidentiel N• 100/005 du 25 juin 2020 portant Nomination d’un Haut Cadre au Cabinet Civil du Président de la République du #Burundi. pic.twitter.com/c9qCloCB79
— Ntare Rushatsi House (@NtareHouse) June 25, 2020
Ndirakobuca was sanctioned in 2015 by the US for "silencing those opposed" to Nkurunziza's third term bid. He is also under sanctions from France and the European Union.
Burundi's ambassador to the United Nations, Albert Shingiro, has been appointed foreign minister.
