Nairobi, March 11 -- African opposition figures are rallying behind their kind, Burundi's CNL party leader Agathon Rwasa, who was controversially dethroned while he was on a trip out of the country.

The National Freedom Congress (known by its French acronym CNL), which was founded by Mr Rwasa in 2019, elected new leaders in a controversial meeting held on Sunday in Ngozi, north of the country.

Mr Rwasa first opposed the congress, then Burundian security forces deployed heavily, including barring and arresting some of those suspected of planning to disrupt it.

Nestor Girukwishaka was elected as the president of the CNL party for a five-year term. Mr Rwasa was away in Tanzania, attending a convention of the opposition party ACT-Wazalendo...