Burundi : YouTuber Dieudonné Niyukuri and four others kidnapped by intelligence

SOS Médias Burundi

Bujumbura, September 16, 2025 – Dieudonné Niyukuri, a well-known Burundian YouTuber critical of the government, and four other people, including a Rwandan driver, have reportedly been detained in an undisclosed location since August 28. According to family sources, they were arrested and kidnapped by a network targeting Burundians in the diaspora and Burundian refugees, led by a certain Hajayandi.

Dieudonné Niyukuri and four other people were reportedly arrested and kidnapped by the Burundian intelligence through this network. According to family sources, he was apprehended in the border region with Rwanda, in Kirundo, northern Burundi.

“His captors demanded a ransom, promising to release him, but in vain,” a family member told SOS Médias Burundi. A few months earlier, a former soldier from the Bubanza region (west) had presented himself as a fan of Dieudonné Niyukuri’s shows. He reportedly convinced the YouTuber to accompany him to Burundi after receiving his financial support while he was living in Rwanda. The family is unaware of the exact circumstances of his return to Burundi.

Originally from the Makamba region in Burunga province (southern Burundi), Dieudonné Niyukuri fled the country in 2015 during the crisis triggered by the controversial term of the late President Pierre Nkurunziza. He found refuge in Mozambique before settling in Rwanda in 2024.

“We ask the Burundian authorities to at least disclose his place of detention,” pleaded a brother of the YouTuber, who believes his arrest is linked to his broadcasts and critical analyses of the CNDD-FDD.

Dieudonné Niyukuri is best known for his critical broadcasts on his channel Ca Akenge and his regular appearances in media outlets in the subregion. To date, the Burundian authorities have not commented on these arrests. His identified contact is Alexis Hajayandi. According to our sources, several Burundians who fled the 2015 crisis and settled in the subregion have already been arrested by this network, including young people or people likely to have information on armed movements. Until Monday, the detainees’ relatives were able to communicate with them only through their captors.

This case recalls the arrest in August 2022 of another Burundian journalist based in Rwanda, sentenced to 10 years in prison for “undermining the integrity of the national territory.” Floriane Irangabiye was released in mid-August 2024 after a presidential pardon.