Suriname: Former Rebel leader Ronnie Brunswijk announces intention to run for presidency in 2015

Ronnie Brunswijk

Former rebel leader, Ronnie Brunswijk has announced that he will be making a bid for the presidency of Suriname in the 2015 election.

Brunswijk made the announcement following Saturday night’s performance by American rapper Rick Ross. The show was organized by Brunswijk’s promotions company Romeo Bravo.

Brunswijk took full advantage of the opportunity to launch his next move. He announced that he will be his party’s candidate for President during the next elections and will strive to make country’s poor rich.

“If the bank is coming for your house, call me. If you need a few hundred dollars, call me,” he told the cheering audience.

Brunswijk , 52, was a soldier in the mid eighties when he waged a rebellion against then army leader and current President- Desi Bouterse. He entered politics in the late nineties and joined forces with his former foe, Bouterse in the Mega Combination coalition, which formed the current Government after the 2010 elections.

Brunswijk who owns several gold mining operations is popular with the young in the marginalized Maroon community where he built the Ronny Brunswijk stadium in the village Moengo in District Marowijne where he lives. He also finances the local soccer club Moengotapu.

He is known for his common touch, however, he has in the past been sentenced in absentia by a court in the Netherlands for his alleged involvement in drug trafficking. -(CMC)