Joseph Biroli

[1] Ethnically, he was Ganwa of the Batare clan, and was a son of Pierre Baranyanka,[2] a paramount chief with close relations to the Belgian colonial administration in Ruanda-Urundi.

Biroli had garnered a reputation in European social circles as more sophisticated and urbane than the prince, and was held in higher regard by the Belgian administration.

[9] Despite ideological differences, the rivalries between the two parties were primarily fueled by the intra-nobility conflicts, as the Bezi and Batare lineages backed UPRONA and PDC respectively.

[11] As civil order broke down and the Congo fell into crisis, Biroli released a joint communique with Rwagasore on 15 July, appealing for calm and racial harmony, saying Burundi had "the unique chance [...] to create in the heart of Africa an island of peace, tranquility and prosperity.

[12] As PDC president, in September 1960 Biroli led the Burundian delegation to a conference held in Brussels to discuss the decolonisation of Urundi and the organisation of elections.

Rwagasore was placed under house arrest, hampering UPRONA's campaign, and the PDC emerged as the victor, winning 942 of 2,876 local offices.

Biroli attended a conference in Ostend in January 1961 and joined the other Burundian delegates in opposing this move, though Belgium acceded to the UN's wishes.

With approximately 80% voter turnout, UPRONA won 58 of 64 seats in the Legislative Assembly, and Rwagasore was declared prime minister designate.

The group quickly admitted responsibility for the murder and incriminated three other persons in their plot: Michel Iatrou, Ntidendereza, and Biroli.

On 27 November the lower court found Ntidendereza, Biroli, Nahimana, Iatrou, and Ntakiyica guilty and sentenced them to death.

[21] Officials at St Antony's College attempted to dispatch a lawyer to Burundi and petition Biroli's case to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, but were unable to intervene in time.

[5] The defendants' final appeal to the Supreme Court was denied, as were the attempts of the Belgian government to convince Mwami Mwambutsa IV to offer clemency, and on 15 January 1963 all five were publicly hanged in the Gitega stadium before thousands of people.

[22][1] With the PDC's loss in the legislative elections and the execution of Ntidendereza and Biroli, the party ceased to be a viable political force.