Nkurunziza, Burundian president, to get $530,000, luxury villa as retirement benefit

President Pierre Nkurunziza of Burundi will be paid $530,000 and provided with a luxury villa when he leaves office, the BBC reports.

The new legislation was passed on Tuesday by 98 lawmakers and opposed by two.

The draft law, which has been presented to the cabinet for approval by the country’s parliament, also awards him a lifetime salary.

The law also proposes that Nkurunziza be elevated to the title of “supreme leader” when he steps down in May.

It would also benefit former presidents but only those who were democratically elected.

“A president who came to power via the simple consensus of a group of politicians does not have the same regard as one who was democratically elected,” Aimee-Laurentine Kanyana, justice minster, was quoted to have said.

“The retired president will also get the same benefits as a serving vice-president for seven years after he steps down, and will for the rest of his life get an allowance equal to that of a lawmaker.”

Nkurunziza was elected in 2005 after the end of a civil war.

His controversial third term nomination for president plunged the country into violent crises that left scores dead.

The opposition said Nkurunziza’s bid to extend his term was in defiance of the constitution that bars president from seeking a third term.

In 2018, a new constitution was passed that allowed him to stay in power until 2034.