Bujumbura : three journalists arrested during a European commissioner’s visit

SOS Médias Burundi

Bujumbura, February 18, 2026 – Three journalists were arrested Wednesday in Bujumbura, Burundi’s commercial capital, while covering the visit of Hadja Lahbib, European Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management. Arrested at the Burundian Ministry of foreign affairs, they were taken to the National Intelligence Service (SNR) detention center before being released later that evening, according to multiple sources.

The arrested journalists are Papy Jamaica, whose real name is Amani Papy Ndikumana, CEO of Papy Jamaica Video Productions in Bujumbura, a company that employs local youth; Tchandrou Nitanga, a photographer working for Agence France-Presse (AFP), among others, and an assistant to Papy Jamaica.

A Starlink installation at the root of the incident

According to a testimony gathered by SOS Médias Burundi, the incident began during the installation of a Starlink connection by Papy Jamaica. The three professionals were waiting for the European Commissioner’s press statement, scheduled after her meeting with the Burundian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Édouard Bizimana.

According to our sources, it is Bizimana who ordered their arrest. Other sources cite “illegal taking of images” as the motive put forward by the authorities.

The three men were questioned on several subjects, including their collaboration with foreign media outlets and the income they receive. Their phones were searched and confiscated by the intelligence services.

“They were released around 9:15 p.m.,” witnesses and a source within the European Union delegation in Burundi told SOS Médias Burundi.

A visit amid regional tensions

The European Commissioner began her regional tour in Kinshasa on February 17 before traveling to the small east African nation. She was initially scheduled to visit the Busuma camp in Buhumuza province (east), which shelters more than 70,000 Congolese refugees who fled the fighting in South Kivu in December 2025.

These clashes pit the M23 rebels against the FARDC (Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo), supported by the FDNB (National Defense Force of Burundi) and the local Wazalendo militias, backed by Kinshasa. Congolese authorities accuse Rwanda of supporting the M23, while Kigali denounces the alleged support of the DRC and Burundi for the FDLR, a Rwandan Hutu armed group whose members are accused of participating in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis.

Despite Rwandan denials, a report by the UN Group of Experts, which Kigali has dismissed as “imposters,” confirmed in December 2025 the presence of 5,000 to 7,000 Rwandan soldiers alongside the M23 rebels.

Finally, the European official visited the Cishemere transit center in the Cibitoke border region.

On Thursday, she is scheduled to meet with President Évariste Ndayishimiye in Bujumbura.

Press freedom under threat

In Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) 2025 World Press Freedom Index, Burundi ranks 125th out of 180 countries, a drop of 17 places compared to the previous year. This decline reflects a climate of persistent pressure against journalists.

The arrest, however brief, of three media professionals during a European visit risks reigniting criticism of the state of press freedom in the country.