Ngozi : prosecutors request 12-year jail sentence for journalist Sandra Muhoza

SOS Médias Burundi

Ngozi, December 19, 2025 – At the First Instance Court of Ngozi in northern Burundi, the public prosecutor requested a 12-year prison sentence and a fine of one million Burundi francs against journalist Sandra Muhoza of the newspaper La Nova. She is being prosecuted for undermining the State security and inciting ethnic hatred, charges her defense strongly denies.

These accusations stem from a message exchanged via WhatsApp in a journalists’ group, which the prosecution considers a criminal offense. Sandra Muhoza and her lawyers reject these accusations, arguing that the alleged actions do not constitute a crime under the current Penal Code and are requesting her immediate release.

Following the hearings, the court adjourned the case for deliberation, with a verdict expected within a month. Several people present in the courtroom expressed their discontent, demanding the journalist’s release.

This case comes as Sandra Muhoza had already been sentenced in December 2024 to 21 months in prison on similar charges, a sentence overturned in May 2025 by the Court of Appeal due to the lack of jurisdiction of the court that heard the case. Despite this reversal, Muhoza remains incarcerated and faces new charges.

International solidarity has also been demonstrated: on December 18, 127 African women journalists sent a letter, relayed by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), denouncing her imprisonment and calling for her unconditional release, noting that it deprives the public of an important voice. They spoke of the pain of being separated from their loved ones, especially their children, as the holiday season approaches.

Recently, President Évariste Ndayishimiye, claiming to be unaware of Sandra Muhoza’s case, invited her to write to him requesting a presidential pardon, thus opening a possible way out.

This case reignites the debate on press freedom in Burundi and the judicial treatment of journalists in the country, already weakened by several similar cases.