Burundi’s former Prime Minister Allain Guillaume Bunyoni was released from prison on Wednesday, March 11, local media reported.

Bunyoni had been sentenced to life in prison for charges related to conspiracy to kill incumbent President Evariste Ndayishimiye in December 2023. His release was confirmed by his lawyer.

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He had reportedly been hospitalized for five months. He was arrested in April 2023.

Bunyoni was Burundi’s prime minister from mid-2020 to September 2022, when he was sacked by Ndayishimiye.

Bunyoni was an influential senior figure in the ruling CNDD-FDD party.

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An army general who served as the police chief and minister of internal security, Bunyoni was tried on charges of conspiracy to kill President Ndayishimiye, insulting then-Prime Minister Gervais Ndirakobuca as well as abusing public office and destabilising the country’s economy.

He denied all the charges.