Gihanga: a man kidnapped on Tuesday remains untraceable

Dieudonné Gahungu, a young father of one single child, was kidnapped Tuesday mid-afternoon in the commune of Gihanga in the province of Bubanza (west of Burundi) by three men, two of whom were in Burundian police uniform. He can not be found. The local administration and the police remain silent on this issue.

INFO SOS Médias Burundi

The person concerned, who is not affiliated with any political party, according to our sources, had just returned from South Sudan where his older brother lives. He was abducted as he was near his home in the municipal capital of Gihanga.

Japhet, a teacher at the Rumotomoto fundemental school in the same commune who is also an Imbonerakure (member of the CNDD-FDD youth league) is allegedly involved in this affair.

“This Imbonerakure had visited Dieudonné. He asked him to accompany him, there was a vehicle with tinted windows not far from his home. When they arrived very close to the vehicle, Japhet shouted out loud as if he was seeking for help saying ‘they’re going to arrest us!’. Three men quickly got out of the vehicle and took Dieudonné straight away,” said a witness. Dieudonné Gahungu’s relatives searched for him in all the official cells in Bubanza, without success. They say they fear for his safety. At least five people were kidnapped in the commune of Gihanga in a period of six months, according to our information.

Read also: https://www.sosmediasburundi.org/2024/04/18/gihanga-un-enseignement-kidnappe

The Gihanga administration and police did not want to comment on this issue. “Which sows doubts about this complicit silence,” according to local observers.

Members of the CNDD-FDD party’s youth league are cited as accomplices in various kidnappings and killings cases in Bubanza. Some were arrested and tried.

We had not yet had contact with Japhet to react to these allegations at the time of publication of this article.

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The town of Gihanga where Dieudonne Gahungu’s abduction took place on May 14, 2024