Gold, ivory, and billions in an office: the scandal shaking Burundi’s attorney general’s office

SOS Médias Burundi

Bujumbura, 4 December 2025- Léonard Manirakiza, former attorney general of the Republic of Burundi, has been held since 1 December 2025 in the cells of the National Intelligence Service (SNR) in Bujumbura, the country’s economic capital, following the discovery in his former office of two gold bars, several elephant tusks, and nearly one billion francs, including local currency and foreign cash.

Returning from a shortened mission in Switzerland on 28 November 2025, he presented himself for the handover of his duties. The new attorney general, Rose Nkorerimana, insisted on entering the office with him, and it was during this joint inspection that the assets were discovered. The former attorney claims these items were seized in the context of investigations but did not present an official record to prove it.

An officer present at the scene described the situation as “unprecedented”, highlighting the scale and value of the objects found, a rare mix of gold, ivory, and cash.

Shortly after, SNR agents intervened and placed Léonard Manirakiza in immediate detention, on the direct instructions of the attorney general. This case raises questions about the management of seized assets, judicial transparency, and the political dynamics surrounding the attorney general’s office, while the investigation is still ongoing.

Formerly a prosecutor at the Muramvya High Court, in the center of the country, Léonard Manirakiza was appointed head of the judicial chamber of the Supreme Court by the late president Pierre Nkurunziza, following the controversial case of students defacing the president’s photo. He was later appointed attorney general about two years ago. He was dismissed on 25 November 2025 while attending the 116th session of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) at the Palais Wilson in Geneva.

His replacement, Rose Nkorerimana, is the first woman to hold this post in the small East African nation.

Many observers consider this case—where a former attorney general kept in his office assets considered stolen, a practice reportedly common among some CNDD-FDD officials, the former Hutu rebel party in power since 2005, and labeled by President Évariste Ndayishimiye as “economic sabotage”—as revealing just how degraded Burundian institutions have become.

A judicial police officer (OPJ) assigned to the SNR has already drafted a report to initiate the constitution of a judicial file. It is not yet known whether the former attorney has a lawyer at this stage.