Kayogoro : panic of the population following paramilitary training by the Imbonerakure

Imbonerakure, members of the ruling party’s youth league, carry out paramilitary training, especially at night. These take place in the zones of the Kayogoro district in the Makamba province in southern Burundi. According to residents, the district secretary of the CNDD-FDD is responsible for organizing these trainings which, according to him, are preparations for the celebration of the day dedicated to the Imbonerakure. And for members of opposition parties, it is a way of intimidating them which precedes a census planned on the basis of political affiliation. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

The area where mobilization for training is intense is Bigina. It is the birthplace of CNDD-FDD secretary general, Révérien Ndikuriyo.

This Monday, training began between 3 and 4 a.m. in the 12 villages in this zone.

“These Imbonerakure are training with sticks and clubs. The organizers of these trainings are the CNDD-FDD district secretary Aloys Kadoyi and Bernard Ciza, head of the Imbonerakure in Kayogoro district”, specify residents who do not fail to express their concern about this situation, especially since it precedes a census of opposition party members in all districts.

They explain that following these training sessions, some residents who early go to the fields are forced to wait for fear of being “mistreated by these Imbonerakure”.

According to a local source in Kayogoro, some opposition party members joined the CNDD-FDD after the announcement of the census for fear of “suffering bad luck”.

Ruling party officials deny the accusations. They explain that these trainings aim to prepare for the day dedicated to the Imbonerakure which will soon be celebrated, without explaining why the trainings are done at night and on working days.

The inhabitants ask that these trainings be suspended, because according to them, their objective is to “terrorize the members of the opposition parties”.