Gervais Rufyikiri

Gervais Rufyikiri (born 12 April 1965) is a Burundian politician who was Second Vice President of Burundi from 2010 to 2015.

[1] Born in Gitega Province, Rufyikiri holds a doctorate (PhD) in Biological, Agricultural and Environmental Engineering Sciences from the Belgian university Université Catholique de Louvain.

As a result, he was effectively marginalized, although he initially remained in his post as Second Vice-President.

On 25 June 2015, Rufyikiri left the country and went into exile in Belgium, declaring that Nkurunziza's candidacy was unconstitutional and that, by running, Nkurunziza was putting his own interests ahead of the nation's interests.

The government welcomed Rufyikiri's departure and alleged that he was involved in the failed May 2015 coup attempt.