Claude Nahayo has been unanimously approved as the new administrator of Ngozi commune in Burundi’s northern Butanyerera Province, following an extraordinary session of the communal council on September 28, 2026.
The council approved Nahayo with 100% of the votes, according to reports from the session. His appointment comes weeks after the council voted unanimously to remove his predecessor, Dominique Ndikuryayo, from office.
Ndikuryayo was dismissed after councillors accused him of mismanagement of communal property and other administrative shortcomings. Local reporting also linked his dismissal to the management of Ngozi’s central market following a fire that ravaged the facility.
Nahayo is a longtime political and administrative figure from Ngozi. He previously served as administrator of Ngozi commune and later as governor of Ngozi Province.
He subsequently served as a CNDD-FDD member of parliament representing Ngozi during the 2015–2020 and 2020–2025 legislatures. He had also represented Ngozi in the 2010–2015 legislature before his appointment as governor.
During the 2015–2020 legislature, Nahayo served as vice-president of the National Assembly’s Commission on Justice and Human Rights, according to the parliament’s records.
His return to the administration of Ngozi marks a comeback to a local government post he previously held.
Ndikuryayo’s dismissal was the second such removal of a communal administrator since Burundi’s latest administrative reorganization, according to local reporting. Earlier, Alexis Havyarimana, administrator of Ntahangwa commune in Bujumbura Province, was suspended following allegations including poor management and administrative irregularities.
