Bujumbura : a neighborhood chief jailed for travel cocument fraud

SOS Médias Burundi

Bujumbura, March 17, 2026 – Claudine Akimana, head of the Bwiza neighborhood in the Bwiza zone of Mukaza district, in Burundi’s commercial capital, is currently held in Bujumbura Central Prison, known as Mpimba, located in the south of the city. She is accused of fraudulently producing passports for Congolese nationals wishing to travel to Arab countries in search of work.

Residents of the Bwiza neighborhood are demanding that justice be served and that authorities who abuse their positions to break the law be punished.

A fraud organized from within the neighborhood

According to information gathered on site, Ms. Akimana possessed a machine capable of producing passports and other travel documents directly in the neighborhood. Several Congolese nationals regularly visited her home to obtain these documents. Some of them had already left the country using these fraudulent passports, notably to travel to Saudi Arabia.

The neighborhood chief’s arrest reportedly followed an incident involving a Congolese national who had lost his passport. This man had gone to the Border Police (PAFE) to renew his travel document but was arrested for using a forged document.

During the investigation, he quickly revealed that the passport had been issued to him by Claudine Akimana, to whom he had paid a bribe. The PAFE then alerted the local police in Bwiza, that arrested her before bringing her to trial.

Verdict and residents’ reaction

Last week, the Mukaza prosecutor’s office delivered its verdict against Claudine Akimana, who was subsequently transferred to Bujumbura’s central prison, known as Mpimba.

Residents of the neighborhood are now demanding the strict application of the law to punish all officials who use their positions to circumvent legislation and exploit their influence.

Electoral context

Claudine Akimana began her duties after the elections for local councils and district chiefs held on August 25, 2025, which concluded the year’s electoral process. More than 3,000 localities elected their five local councilors, with the candidate receiving most votes, becoming the district or neighborhood chief to ensure local governance. All candidates ran as independent ones.