Ganwa royal class seeks recognition as ethnic group

Burundi's royal class, the Ganwa, have called on the authorities to recognise them as the country's fourth ethnic group, the BBC Kirundi service reported on Thursday. Candide Mpozagara, a member of the "Great Lakes Ganwa organisation", told the radio that historically the Ganwa are neither Hutu, Tutsi nor Twa and therefore constitute a separate ethnic group. "We would like to be recognised as the Ganwa ethnic group," she said. She stressed that they did not want to restore the kingdom. "We are only fighting for our identity. We don't want to get involved in politics," she said. The Ganwa have called on the Burundian authorities to allow a proper burial for the country's last two kings, Ntare V who was assassinated, and his father, Mwambutsa who died in Switzerland.