Emmanuel Niyonkuru
{{Short description|Burundian politician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Emmanuel Niyonkuru
| honorific-suffix =
| image =
| alt =
| caption = Niyonkuru in 2016
| office = Minister of Water, Environment, Spatial Planning and Urban Development
| term_start = 24 August 2015
| term_end = 1 January 2017
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1962|07|20}}
| birth_place = Commune of Rutegama, Burundi
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2017|1|1|1962|07|20}}
| death_place = Bujumbura, Burundi
| death_cause = Assassination
|alma_mater = University of Burundi
}}
{{Wikinews|Gunman kills Burundi environment minister Emmanuel Niyonkuru}}
Emmanuel Niyonkuru (20 July 1962 – 1 January 2017) was a Burundian politician.
Life
Niyonkuru gained his higher education at the Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences at the University of Burundi from 1987 to 1991.{{Cite web|url=http://dailypost.ng/2017/01/01/niyonkuru-burundi-minister-assassinated/|title=Niyonkuru, Burundi minister assassinated|date=1 January 2017|website=Daily Post Nigeria|access-date=2 January 2017}}
Later Niyonkuru followed a career in the banking industry. From 1992 to 2015, he worked as the deputy director of Bank of the Republic of Burundi (BRB). Emmanuel Niyonkuru was also elected to the Burundian Senate, representing the district of Muramvya for the 2015 to 2020 term.
In 2015, he was appointed to Burundi's Council of Ministers by Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza, in charge of water, environment, spatial planning and urban development.
Death
In 2017, as part of the political unrest in Burundi, Niyonkuru was assassinated by gunshot around midnight while on his way home to Rohero, a suburb in the then-capital city of Bujumbura, according to police.{{cite web|title=Burundi: Le Ministre de l'environnement assassiné par balles|url=http://www.20minutes.fr/monde/1988015-20170101-burundi-ministre-environnement-assassine-balles|language=French|work=20 minutes|date=1 January 2017}} Six people, who are believed to be from Rwanda, were arrested in connection to the assassination. Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza, stated that the crime would not go unpunished.{{cite web|title=Niyonkuru, Burundi minister assassinated|url=http://www.nan.ng/news/niyonkuru-burundi-minister-assassinated/|accessdate=1 January 2017|work=News Agency of Nigeria|date=1 January 2017}}{{cite web|title=Burundi minister assassinated in Bujumbura|url=http://www.france24.com/en/20170101-burundi-minister-assassinated-police|accessdate=1 January 2017|work=France 24|date=1 January 2017}} Niyonkuru's assassination is one of many attacks against public faces of Nkurunziza's administration.{{Cite web|url=http://www.africanews.com/2017/01/08/burundi-arrests-six-people-over-ministers-killing//|title=Burundi Arrests Six People Over Minister's Killing|date=8 January 2017|website=Africa News|access-date=14 April 2017}} He was buried at Mpanda in neighbouring Tanzania.{{cite web|url=http://www.iwacu-burundi.org/englishnews/burundian-environment-minister-buried-at-mpanda-cemetery/|title=Burundian Environment Minister Buried at Mpanda cemetery|publisher=Iwacu English News|date=10 January 2017}}
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Niyonkuru, Emmanuel}}
Category:Assassinated government ministers in Africa
Category:Government ministers of Burundi
Category:Assassinated Burundian politicians
Category:People from Muramvya Province
Category:Deaths by firearm in Burundi
Category:2017 murders in Africa
Category:21st-century politicians
Category:Members of the Senate (Burundi)
Category:University of Burundi alumni
Category:African politicians assassinated in the 2010s
Category:Politicians assassinated in 2017
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