Giharo – Rutana : more than 50 families in distress after being expropriated from their land

According to residents of Kibimba village in Giharo district, Rutana province (southeast Burundi), more than 50 families grouped in two cooperatives were expropriated from their land located in the Mukazye seed center. Those concerned sent a letter to the Minister of Agriculture protesting against this expropriation, but a period of three months has gone without a response. They are asking for intervention from the Prime Minister and the President of the Republic to resolve this matter. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

The expropriated cooperatives are “Ngwino Urore” which had been operating 2 hectares since 2017 and “Kora Tugwize Umwimbu” which had 6 hectares.

These residents report having been expropriated by the director of the Provincial Office of Environment, Agriculture and Livestock (BPEAE) for the benefit of a few individuals, contrary, they recall, to the call of the Head of State who encourages the regrouping into cooperatives and associations.

AAccording to these former operators, they were expropriated after having denounced a misappropriation of 9 hectares by the director of the BPEAE of Rutana, Pierre Claver Bagorikunda, through a certain Léonidas Bahati.

This land, according to members of the two cooperatives, was rented by the director of the BPEAE, Pierre Claver Bagorikunda, under the cover of Léonidas Bahati for 5 years, thus monopolizing the rental fees, while this money should be paid into the account of the BPEAE Rutana.

Members of these cooperatives indicate that after a letter addressed to the director of the BPEAE Rutana, Pierre Claver Bagorikunda, on December 12, 2023, the latter chased them away the following season.

Both cooperatives were completely stripped

Spaces they exploited were distributed to individuals, including the administrator of the Giharo district Lydie Nihimbazwe, the provincial secretary of the CNDD-FDD, Sylvain Nzikoruriho and others.

These former farmers say that they have written a letter asking the Minister of Agriculture to help them since May 16, but they have not yet received a response.

Leaders of the 50 households say that they are made up of hundreds of people who have been living of the exploitation of this seed center for years, and that they do not see how they will be able to feed their families.

They wonder how they were victims of having denounced embezzlement of public funds, instead of being congratulated.

These families are asking Prime Minister Gervais Ndirakobuca and President Évariste Ndayishimiye to restore their rights.

“The government encourages the population to group together in cooperatives to produce more to fight against famine and poverty,” they recall.

The Mukazye seed center was built in the Mukazye River marsh with funding from the World Bank.

It has an area of ​​32 hectares and is considered one of the granaries of the southern provinces of the country.

Rice and corn are grown there for the most part.