Bujumbura : a Bonesha FM journalist attacked at the University of Burundi – A worrying symbol for press freedom

SOS Médias Burundi

Bujumbura, April 28, 2025 —
Journalist Willy Kwizera, of Bonesha FM radio station, was violently attacked on Monday morning on the Mutanga campus in Bujumbura, while he was reporting on students’ living conditions.

Around 10:00 a.m., while collecting testimonies, he was accosted by several students identifying themselves as members of the students’ body. Suspecting danger, he attempted to retreat but was quickly caught.

An extremely violent attack

According to his testimony, three young men chased him, stopped him, and demanded his identity card. Our colleague was forcibly taken to the front of the former university cafeteria, then to the 9th floor of the students’ representation building, where he was brutally beaten.

“They beat me with a rifle butt, threatened to kill me, and said they were going to hide my body in the basement,” Willy Kwizera recounted.

Six assailants beat him savagely, preventing him from screaming with blows to the neck. He now suffers serious injuries on his back, legs, and face. His condition is considered critical.

A journalist previously targeted

This is not the first time Willy Kwizera has suffered violations of his freedom. On April 21, he was arrested by agents of the National Intelligence Service (SNR) and the national police. He was detained for more than eight hours in a police cell in Bujumbura, accused of insurrection, before being released without any official charges being brought against him.

An urgent appeal for his safety

From his hospital bed, Willy Kwizera made an appeal :

“I take this opportunity to ask for my safety to be guaranteed. If my life is threatened, those responsible will be this group of students from the Mutanga campus.”

Bonesha FM’s reaction

Raymond Nzimana, director of Bonesha FM, strongly condemned this attack :

“Even in cases of misconduct, no one has the right to take justice into their own hands. We demand a serious investigation so that the perpetrators are brought to justice.”

He reiterated that Bonesha FM is a radio station licensed by the National Communication Council (CNC) and called for respect for the fundamental right to information.

An alarming climate for press freedom

This incident occurs in a particularly tense context. Burundi is ranked 108th out of 180 countries in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), with a score of 51.78.

The country continues to be marked by acts of intimidation, arbitrary arrests, and the marginalization of independent media.

A few days before the World Press Freedom Day (May 3), the attack on Willy Kwizera illustrates the persistence of serious threats to Burundian journalists.

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Willy Kwizera, the reporter for Bonesha FM radio, attacked twice in one week while doing his job in the commercial city of Bujumbura