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The African Union’s special envoy to Mali and the Sahel, Pierre Buyoya, has resigned from his post.
The former Burundian simply confirmed to AFP that he had submitted his resignation, without further details or reason for the resignation.
Buyoya was sentenced to life imprisonment at home in October for the 1993 murder of his predecessor Melchior Ndadaye.
He denounces a “impeachment” and said he would appeal the ruling.
A senior AU official told AFP, on condition of anonymity, that ‘Mr. Buyoya resigned because he wants “to dedicate all his time and energy to his defense and wants to avoid a situation in the AU that would be embarrassing for a member state.”
Another senior official who also spoke on condition of anonymity added that Buyoya’s resignation “was accepted with gratitude for the excellent work done in Mali on behalf of the AU.”
The African Union has not commented on Buyoya’s conviction since the verdict was announced on October 20 in Bujumbura.
The Burundi judiciary convicted Mr. Buyoya, along with a score of his relatives, for “attacking the head of state, attacking the authority of the state and attacking that tends to cause massacres and devastation.”
Mr. Buyoya’s name has already been mentioned in connection with the assassination of President Ndadaye, without any evidence being presented.
