Cibitoke : women denounce the slow pace of justice in land disputes

SOS Médias Burundi

Cibitoke, July 9, 2025 – In this region of northwestern Burundi, women are speaking out against what they describe as “unjustified slowness” in the handling of land cases. In particular, inheritance disputes, where women face influential men, seem to drag on in the courts.

Two widows from Kagazi village, interviewed at the Cibitoke First Instance Court, say they have been fighting for 27 years to recover a plot of land left by their parents. “All this time, the case has never been definitively resolved. We have devoted all our resources to moving the case forward, in vain,” confides one of them, visibly exhausted.

These women point the finger at a judicial system they consider biased and corrupt. They accuse certain magistrates of favoring the opposing party, often well-connected men, capable, according to them, of bribing judges. “We are widows, without representation, without resources, and this works against us. Yet justice should protect the most vulnerable,” they lament.

They appeal to the judicial authorities, urging them to guarantee swift, fair, and impartial justice, especially in land cases involving marginalized people. “This slowness is not just a simple administrative delay; it is a form of injustice that stifles our dignity and hinders our development,” they gravely declare.

In Cibitoke, as elsewhere in the small east African nation, justice remains a fundamental pillar of social peace. But as long as the most vulnerable citizens continue to feel ignored or excluded from the judicial system, confidence in the rule of law will remain shaken.