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"I don't know the word that exceeds excellent," said Bishop Alfred Ndoricimpa about his recent return to Burundi after six years of exile. "There was a huge crowd of women, children, and church members. It was MORE than excellent!" Immediately after their arrival, Ndoricimpa and his companions, retired Bishop David Lawson of the Great Rivers Conference in Southern Illinos and Bishop João Somane Machado of Mozambique, were taken to a huge worship service in Bujumbura, capital of Burundi. Lawson and Machado had been appointed by the Council of Bishops to accompany Ndoricimpa on his momentous trip back to his country. The next day they traveled to another province, where Ndoricimpa preached at the largest parish in Burundi. This was particularly emotional for him because he had laid the cornerstone for the parish church before his hasty departure in 1993. At another parish, he was received by both the bishop of the Roman Catholic Church and the archbishop of the Anglican Church. The governor of the Eastern Province brought his staff, and over 3,000 came to see Bishop Ndoricimpa lay the cornerstone for a Hope for the Children of Africa school. Ndoricimpa also had many candid discussions with several government officials about what is required to prepare for his permanent return in a few months. According to Bishop Lawson, Burundian President Pierre Buyoya emphasized to the delegation the need for Ndoricimpa's presence in Burundi. "President Buyoya had said to me last March – and said it to the bishop directly this time – that it's important for Bishop Ndoricimpa to be in Burundi if they ever expect to have any kind of peace there," Lawson said. More than 200,000 have been reported killed in Burundi since 1993, when conflict between the Hutu and Tutsi tribes erupted. That year, the country's first democratically elected Hutu president was assasinated in a military coup, forcing Bishop Ndoricimpa, who had been the president's spiritual adviser, to flee to Nairobi, Kenya. Hutus make up an estimated 85 percent of the population in Burundi, but the Tutsis, although a minority, control the powerful Burundian army and government. While on exile, Ndoricimpa guided the growth and development of the church in Burundi, also expanding its mission into Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda. These areas now compose the East Africa Annual Conference. Bishop Lawson recalled the festiveness of the welcoming ceremony sponsored by the annual conference in a town called Gitega. There were people in colorful attire dancing, different choirs singing, and vigorous drumming by around 18 royal drummers using very tall African drums. "Drums were beating for the service for two days," said Ndoricimpa. At all his public appearances, Ndoricimpa preached a message of unity between the Hutus and Tutsis. According to Lawson, Ndoricimpa made a strong appeal to the people to lay aside tribal and other kinds of differences that have developed into civil war. "He challenged them to think that peace in Burundi will come only when the people themselves determine that it's what they want. He challenged the people to start saying no to both government military and rebel forces who are driving this civil war, and to make it clear that the people do intend to have and want to have peace," Lawson added. The United Methodist Church in Burundi is the second largest religious denomination in Burundi, next to the Roman Catholic Church. Since its multi-ethnic leaders and members are one body in Christ, the church has been demonstrating for some time that this conflict is pointless, said Lawson. Within the last six years, the Burundian church has grown by 30 percent. Ndoricimpa has been actively supervising the work of the church from Kenya by fax and telephone and by having his district superintendents meet with him in Nairobi. On June 7, former South African president Nelson Mandela announced that the way had been cleared for peace in Burundi. Buyoya's government had agreed to two key conditions for ending the civil war. Mandela, who brokered the peace accord, said it calls for an equal representation of Hutus and Tutsis in the army and for closing down by July 31 the regroupment camps into which more than 300,000 Hutu villagers have been forced to move. The camps have been internationally criticized, and Mandela himself has called them "concentration camps." According to news reports, Mandela arrived in Bujumbura on June 12 to pursue his peace mission. He first met with President Buyoya, then visited Mpimba Prison for conversations with political prisoners. He plans to visit a regroupment camp. June 13, 2000 See also: Burundi bishop optimistic about Mandela as mediator, UMNS, April 7, 2000 | Top | Global Connections: Burundi | |
