Cibitoke : a teacher sentenced to three years in prison for attempted rape of a pupil

SOS Médias Burundi

Cibitoke, December 3, 2025 — The Cibitoke First Instance Court sentenced Jean Bosco Bukuru, a teacher at the Cibitoke Technical High School (LTC), to three years in prison on Tuesday, December 2, for the attempted rape of one of his pupils. Two other people prosecuted in this case were also sentenced.

The verdict was handed down on Tuesday, December 2. Jean Bosco Bukuru, a teacher at the Cibitoke Technical High School, was found guilty of the attempted rape of his pupil, Sandrine Ndacayisaba. The court sentenced him to three years in prison, along with the payment of court costs. The trial was held at the Cibitoke First Instance Court in Bujumbura Province, western Burundi.

Nicaise Niyogusenga, prosecuted for complicity in the same case, was fined 100,000 Burundi francs. A third defendant, Isaac Ntirampeba, was also charged with complicity, in accordance with the prosecution case, but he was acquitted.

A decision welcomed but deemed too lenient

The trial, which lasted more than three hours, drew a large crowd, including parents and advocates for women’s and children’s rights. All welcomed the decision handed down by the Cibitoke First Court, while maintaining that the sentence imposed on the head teacher remained insufficient given the seriousness of the offenses.

Some observers argued for a harsher penalty, asserting that the education system cannot tolerate such abuses. The teacher was arrested on November 22nd in a Cibitoke hotel room, along with his pupil.