Burundians jailed for stoning new president's convoy

A court in northern Burundi has sentenced two men and a woman to 30 years in prison for attempting to assassinate new President Evariste Ndayishimiye after they threw stones at his convoy.

The prosecutor requested the court in Kayanza province to jail the three to seven years for causing insecurity for the president, but the court decided to convict them of trying to kill him and sentenced each of them to 30 years in prison, local radio station Isanganiro reported.

The three, who were employed at Engen petrol station in Kayanza town, were accused of stoning the convoy from their work place when Mr Ndayishimiye visited the area last Wednesday.

They denied the charge.

“Many people were arrested after the incident, some were released afterwards but a woman and two men who work at a petrol station remained in jail and were sentenced this Sunday,” a resident in Kayanza told BBC Great Lakes.

President Ndayishimiye was due to take power on 20 August after he won elections in May. However, he was inaugurated in June after the sudden death of his predecessor Pierre Nkurunziza.