Buganda : residents denounce insufficient compensation during the construction of the bridge over the Rusizi River

SOS Médias Burundi

Bujumbura, November 27, 2025 – In Buganda, in the Bukinanyana district, Bujumbura province, bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo, residents at the 6th avenue, along the National Road umber 5 in Kaburantwa village, are demanding compensation deemed derisory following the construction of a road and bridge linking Burundi to the DRC. They are calling on the government to intervene to obtain fair and transparent compensation.

The work, carried out by a Chinese company, involves building the road leading to the Rusizi River and a cross-border bridge. Several families, whose homes and land were destroyed to allow the construction to proceed, claim they have not received the promised compensation.

According to residents, during the initial negotiations, they were guaranteed that compensation would be proportional to the actual value of their property. However, the amounts paid are considered woefully inadequate, with some describing the payments as “symbolic,” far from covering the losses suffered.

Fears of further destruction

Residents are also worried about a planned widening of the road, which could lead to the demolition of more homes and land. They are demanding formal guarantees to prevent further losses and denounce the possible misappropriation of some of the compensation funds. “Some of the money intended for the victims may have been siphoned off by unscrupulous intermediaries,” they claim.

Appeal to the government

These families are requesting urgent government intervention to recalculate compensation based on the actual value of destroyed property and to ensure strict oversight of the funds. They believe the infrastructure project will bring development, but it must not be carried out “at the expense of the most vulnerable.”