Burunga : pupils kidnapped at night to serve CNDD-FDD political activities

SOS Médias Burundi

Makamba, January 25, 2026 – Pupils at the Makamba Agricultural Technical Middle School (ETMA), the town center of Burunga province in southern Burundi, are denouncing disturbing practices : being taken from the boarding school in the middle of the night to participate in CNDD-FDD political activities, on the sidelines of the ruling party’s national congress. Parents and teachers are concerned about this forced, nighttime politicization, which endangers the pupils’ safety and well-being. The school operates under an agreement with the Free Methodist Church.

Regular mobilizations, including outside the country

According to several consistent accounts gathered from pupils, these mobilizations are not new. They claim to be regularly taken to participate in party activities, both in Burunga province and other provinces, and even in neighboring Tanzania, involving the majorettes of the ruling party. Burunga province borders Tanzania.

But the events that occurred on Friday night/Saturday morning mark, according to them, a worrying turning point.

Pupils taken from the boarding school around 2 a.m.

Around 2 a.m., a teacher from ETMA, Dieudonné Irakoze, reportedly arrived at the boarding school to collect pupils and take them to CNDD-FDD political activities, organized on the sidelines of the ruling party’s national congress scheduled for Sunday. This initiative reportedly met with immediate resistance from the school’s director, Isaac Maniriho, who reminded them that it is forbidden to take pupils from the boarding school at such an hour.

When questioned about this decision, the teacher reportedly claimed to be acting on the instructions of the CNDD-FDD’s national secretary general, Révérien Ndikuriyo. The headmaster then allegedly demanded direct confirmation from this authority, failing which he would refuse to let the pupils leave.

Police pressure and forced approval

According to the same sources, the teacher then returned accompanied by Léonard Ndamiye, an officer from the Makamba police station, described as active in mobilizing the youth wing of the ruling party. Ndamiye reportedly ordered the headmaster not to “obstruct State activities.”

Under pressure, the headmaster eventually gave in, but not before demanding a written letter acknowledging the organizers’ responsibility. The pupils were then allegedly taken away at night in vehicles to Gitega to participate in CNDD-FDD activities.

Parental anger and concerns for the girls

While some pupils acknowledge that these trips have been taking place for a long time, parents and pupils unanimously denounce the nighttime and forced nature of this mobilization. Many are outraged that children are being removed from school without their families’ knowledge, while they were supposed to be safe at the boarding school.

Concerns are particularly acute regarding female pupils, who often make up the majority of those taken out at night without adult female supervision. Parents and pupils are asking : in the event of abuse, an accident, or pregnancy, who would be held responsible?

A long-standing denunciation of politicization

In Makamba, this case raises serious questions about pupil protection, respect for the school environment—especially in a school under religious agreement—and the role of political activities in educational institutions in Burunga province, which borders Tanzania in southern Burundi.

Since the former Hutu rebellion came to power in 2005, following the Arusha Agreement of August 2000, unions and education stakeholders have regularly denounced the politicization of schools, which they consider dangerous for the future of Burundian youth.