9781422280683

Burundi

constitution, and the election of a majority Hutu government in 2005. The new government, led by President Pierre Nkurunziza, signed a South African-brokered cease-fire with the country’s last rebel group in September 2006, although the country still faces many challenges. In 2015 President Nkurunziza won a third term in the presidential elections with 70 percent of the vote. The result was disputed by the opposition. According to the UN, more than 400 people were killed and 260,000 fled the country in the year that Mr Nkurunziza was elected. Burundi is one of the smallest countries in Africa. Its people rely on agriculture at subsistence level, leaving the manufacturing sector largely undeveloped. Tea and coffee are the main revenue earners, but are highly vulnerable to weather conditions and international prices.

Bantu Languages The Bantu languages are a group of African

languages spoken in a very wide area, including most of Africa from southern Cameroon, eastward to Kenya and southward to the southernmost tip of the continent. The total number of Bantu languages is uncertain, but it is estimated there are around 500.

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