Burunga : four suspects arrested in Rumonge for murder and theft of a large sum of money

SOS Médias Burundi

Rumonge, August 24, 2025 – Four people, including two women, are held in the Rumonge police station cell in Burunga province, southern Burundi. They are accused of murdering Joachim Bizimana and stealing a large sum of money he was carrying, in Mutambara village, Gatete zone, Rumonge district.

The arrests took place on Friday, August 22, a few hours after the attack on Thursday, August 21. According to initial police information, the two women were the first to hear the man’s cries of distress, found dying in a gutter along the RN16 road linking Mutambara to Bururi. They reportedly alerted residents, including two men, who went to the scene and extracted the victim.

One of them reportedly recognized Joachim Bizimana and went to warn his family. However, upon their return, his relatives found neither the victim nor the rescuers. They assumed he had been evacuated to Rumonge Hospital. The next day, Bizimana’s lifeless body was found at the same location, thrown into the gutter a second time.

According to local sources, the suspects eventually killed him before abandoning his body. His belongings—including a bicycle and a pair of sandals—were found at the home of two of the suspects. Nearly 700,000 Burundi francs, which the victim had in his possession before the attack, remain unaccounted for.

The police are continuing their investigation and are keeping the four suspects in detention. Joachim Bizimana’s family demands that the perpetrators be brought to justice and that the truth be revealed quickly.