Burundi – Transferred to Ngozi, journalist Sandra Muhoza remains at the heart of a judicial imbroglio

SOS Médias Burundi

Bujumbura, September 26, 2025 – Sandra Muhoza has been transferred to Ngozi Prison, in the north of the country, where she will now appear before the local court.

According to witnesses who spoke to SOS Médias Burundi, Sandra Muhoza left Bujumbura Central Prison, known as Mpimba, on Friday afternoon.

Journalist Sandra Muhoza, detained since March 2024, remains at the center of a judicial imbroglio.

This transfer comes after the Mukaza Court of Appeal, in the commercial capital of Bujumbura, declared itself incompetent to try her case, as the alleged offense had been committed in Ngozi, her place of residence, thus giving the Ngozi court jurisdiction.

In a decision handed down on June 13, 2025, the court had nevertheless invalidated the journalist’s initial conviction and the arrest warrant against her. Despite this decision, she remained detained in Mpimba for several months before this transfer.

Her lawyer, Prosper Niyoyankana, denounced her detention as “now without legal basis” and accused the competent courts of shirking their duty to judge.

The organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reacted firmly. “Not only should she never have been imprisoned, but she shouldn’t spend a second longer!” said Sadibou Marong, director of RSF’s Sub-Saharan Africa desk, calling on the authorities to immediately implement the June 13 decision.

Sentenced in December 2024 to 21 months in prison for a message shared in a WhatsApp group, Sandra Muhoza, a journalist with the independent media outlet La Nova Burundi, has become a symbol of the pressure on press freedom in the country.

Sandra Muhoza’s case highlights the persistent legal uncertainty surrounding detentions in Burundi and the ongoing tensions over press freedom. Her transfer to Ngozi highlights the difficulties in enforcing judicial decisions and international calls for her immediate release.