Transitional Justice for Burundi: A Long and Winding Road

This paper constitutes a summary attempt at reconstructing Burundi's approach to dealing with the past. First, a brief presentation is made of the kind of legacy of violence Burundi is facing. Next, I will summarize how in the immediate aftermath of the various cycles of violence, justice was rendered (or, more adequately, not rendered). Thirdly, a presentation will be made of what, at least at the level of public discourse - both at the national and at the international level constituted the stated transitional justice policy for Burundi. Fourthly, the paper will show how essentially political parameters have determined the practice of transitional justice during and after the period of transition. In Sect. 6, the current state of affairs will be summarized. Section 7 briefly refers to the traditional Bashingantahe mechanism. Finally, some tentative conclusions will be formulated.