An Army faction, led by Deputy Chief of Staff Jean-Baptiste Bagaza, ousted President Michel Micombero.

[1][2] Micombero was initially arrested but later allowed to leave the country and went into exile in Somalia (then Somali Democratic Republic under the rule of Siad Barre) where he died in 1983.

Because these investments were made to create new sources of income and patronage for the Bururi-Tutsi elite, and not to achieve economic development goals, they did not have long-term viability.

The authorities, in order to pay the external debt, imposed high taxes, which in turn hit the population hard.

[5][8] By 1986, the country's economic situation had deteriorated so much that Bagaza was forced to accept a structural adjustment program imposed by the IMF and the World Bank, which included massive cuts in military and government spending.