Evariste Ndayishimiye, the President of Burundi, has called for the public stoning of gay couples in the country.

The president who said this while responding to a question during a public event held in the country on Friday also described the act as an abominable practice.

He further warned that citizens who travelled out of the country and are now engaged in such practices should not return to the country.

The President, a Catholic said:

“Personally, I think if we see these kinds of individuals in Burundi, we should put them in a stadium and stone them. And it would not be a sin for those who do.

“Burundians living abroad who have chosen the devil and practise homosexuality should not come back.”

The President, who took power in June 2020 after the death of President Pierre Nkurunziza, his predecessor, also criticised Western countries, who persuaded smaller countries to allow gay marriage or risk losing aid.

Lashing out, he said:
“Let them keep their help. Let them keep it.”

Homosexuality in Burundi, a conservative Christian country in East Africa, has been criminalised since 2009 with prison terms of up to two years.

Earlier this year, Burundi, in a bid to end same sex relationship, charged 24 people with homosexual practices as the President called on the citizens to root out homosexuals and treat them as pariahs.

Homosexuality is forbidden and treated as a crime in many East African countries with Uganda leading the pack and being described as the country with the world’s harshest laws against homosexuality.