Rumonge: Two men sentenced to one year in prison

Mathieu Nkurunziza and Adrien Kenese were sentenced to one year in prison by the High Court of Rumonge (southwest Burundi). They were accused of undermining national security and bringing narcotics into the country. This was during a flagrante delicto hearing last Saturday.

INFO SOS Médias Burundi

The two men pleaded guilty. They will also pay a fine of one million Burundian francs each.

The defendants were caught in possession of 357 loincloths and 50 kg of hemp on December 11, from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The burnt hemp

According to witnesses, the High Court of Rumonge said nothing about the seized hemp. And sources close to the case say that its destination remains a mystery. The commander of the Burundian navy reportedly refused to hand it over to the police to build a case.

“We have contacted all the authorities up to the presidency, without chance,” explained the public prosecutor.

A security source reveals that Brigadier General Venant Bibonimana, known as Gatovyi, refused to hand over the quantity of hemp to the police.

“The police officers can sell it,” he said before ordering it to be burned, according to our source. But other sources suspect that this hemp may have been diverted.

Samuel Nimpagaritse, the third suspect in this case, was acquitted.

———

Defendants in a courtroom at the Rumonge court in southwestern Burundi, November 2024 ©️ SOS Médias Burundi