Pierre Nkurunziza died in 2020, just a few months short of completing his tenure as the first post-civil war President of Burundi. Critics have cast him as yet another rebel-turned-politician who came to office on a promise of a democratic transformation but became progressively authoritarian, particularly during his third, disputed term in office. As a political figure, however, Nkurunziza remains poorly understood. What kind of a worldview motivated his politics? Drawing on critical discourse analysis, we identify three recurring themes in Nkurunziza's key political speeches: anti-colonialism; unity and self-sufficiency; and discourse around ‘politics of a new beginning’. These themes were stable across time, indicating Nkurunziza's consistent worldview, but became more pronounced and radical as he faced growing challenges to his legitimacy from within and without. Far from being confined to rhetoric, the themes also manifested in concrete policy decisions, underscoring the urgent need to take ideology seriously in understanding the political trajectories of African leaders.

皮埃尔·恩库伦齐扎 (Pierre Nkurunziza) 于 2020 年去世，距离完成他作为布隆迪内战后第一位总统的任期只有几个月的时间。批评者认为他是另一位由叛军转变为政治家的人，他上任时承诺实现民主转型，但逐渐变得独裁，尤其是在他的第三个有争议的任期内。然而，作为一个政治人物，恩库伦齐扎仍然知之甚少。什么样的世界观推动了他的政治？通过批判性话语分析，我们确定了恩库伦齐扎主要政治演讲中反复出现的三个主题：反殖民主义；团结和自给自足；以及围绕“新开端的政治”的论述。这些主题随着时间的推移是稳定的，表明 Nkurunziza 一贯的世界观，但随着他从内部和外部面临越来越大的合法性挑战，他变得更加明显和激进。这些主题不仅限于言辞，还体现在具体的政策决定中，强调迫切需要认真对待意识形态来理解非洲领导人的政治轨迹。