Ousted Burundi Leader Unable to Return Home
The deposed president of the African country of Burundi, Col. Jean-Baptiste Bagaza, left Nairobi for Paris early today after Kenya apparently refused him entry to the country, Nairobi airport sources said.
Bagaza, 41, who lost power in a coup by military officers on Thursday, had been waiting in the VIP lounge at Nairobi airport for 12 hours after returning hurriedly from a summit of French-speaking nations in Quebec.
The sources said Bagaza was aboard the same Air France plane that had brought him from Paris on Friday.
Capital Reported Calm
Diplomats in Africa and Europe reported that Bujumbura, capital of Bagaza’s poor, densely populated little country, was calm.
A military group led by Maj. Pierre Buyoya announced Thursday that Bagaza had been deposed, the constitution suspended and power seized by a Committee of National Redemption.
Bagaza hurried back to Africa via New York and Paris, but Bujumbura airport had been closed and flights canceled.
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