Burundi : violence, abuse, and alleged torture… FDNB officers implicated in two serious cases

SOS Médias Burundi

Burundi, May 13, 2026 — Two cases involving officers of the FDNB (Burundi National Defense Force) have been shaking the province of Burunga, in southern Burundi, for several weeks, fueling serious concerns within the army and among the civilian population. Between an armed kidnapping, an attempted rape of a civilian, and accusations of torture that led to the death of a soldier, many are denouncing a worrying rise in abuses attributed to certain officers of the 4th Military Division.

A captain sentenced after an attempted armed rape

The Musongati First Instance Court, sitting within the Rutana prison, sentenced Captain Célestin Baragunzwa to 20 years of penal servitude on Thursday, May 7.

This officer, stationed at the Kayero military camp in Musongati district, was found guilty of kidnapping with a weapon, robbery with intimidation, and attempted rape of a young woman named Ikorineza, who worked at a mobile money transfer service in Gitega, the political capital of Burundi.

According to the prosecution, the officer allegedly used a vehicle and a service pistol to lure and then threaten his victim before attempting to forcibly take her to a remote area in Nyanza village in Musongati district, several kilometers from Gitega.

Under threat of his weapon, the young woman was allegedly forced to undress before managing to escape from the vehicle in the middle of the night, taking advantage of a moment of inattention from the officer. According to witnesses, the victim fled without even her underwear and found refuge with a neighbor, where the head of the household gave her clothes.

Captain Baragunzwa was arrested on the night of April 26, around midnight, by Imbonerakure, members of the CNDD-FDD youth wing, in Nyanza village.

The Imbonerakure participate in night patrols alongside the police and contribute to border security with the army. They sometimes operate armed with bladed weapons and, in some cases, firearms.

This case has deeply shocked many residents of Burunga, who denounce the involvement of an officer supposed to protect civilians in criminal acts committed with a service weapon.

Death of Corporal Albert Hatungimana : a major accused of torture

The other case currently shaking military circles concerns the death of Corporal Albert Hatungimana.

Major Gilbert Manirakiza, nicknamed “Kibogoye,” deputy commander of the Support Battalion of the 4th Division at Mabanda Camp was transferred on Friday, May 8, to Mpimba Central Prison in Bujumbura, Burundi’s commercial capital, pending his trial.

He is accused of playing a direct role in the abuse that allegedly led to the death of the corporal on April 27.

According to several accounts from within the army, the deceased soldier had been arrested after a minor altercation in a shop in Mabanda while he was intoxicated. After paying for the damages, he was returned to the camp for disciplinary action.

But once placed in disciplinary confinement, the situation reportedly deteriorated.

Military sources claim that Major Manirakiza ordered soldiers to brutally beat the corporal. The blows were said to be extremely brutal, to the point that the victim began coughing up blood before being transferred in critical condition to Makamba Hospital, where he died.

A climate of fear denounced in some military camps

Within the army itself, several soldiers describe Major Manirakiza as an officer feared for his command methods.

Some of his colleagues, contacted anonymously, have long spoken of informal accusations of abuse of power, intimidation, and disciplinary violence against this former rebel fighter.

Although these accusations have never led to formal charges, several soldiers believe that the death of Corporal Albert Hatungimana has reignited long-simmering frustrations within certain military units in Burunga.

For many observers, the opening of legal proceedings against a senior officer is already a rare precedent in an environment where high-ranking officers are often perceived as being difficult to hold accountable by military justice.

A seriously tarnished image

Between violence against civilians, the use of service weapons in criminal acts, and accusations of internal torture, these two cases deal a serious blow to the image of the defense forces in Burunga province.

They come at a time of already heightened tension within the Burundian National Defense Forces (FDNB), particularly due to the deployment of Burundian soldiers in eastern DRC alongside the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC), the Wazalendo militias supported by Kinshasa, and, to some extent, the FDLR, a Rwandan Hutu armed group whose members are accused of participating in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis, against the M23 rebels.

According to several military and judicial sources, at least 272 Burundian soldiers were recently sentenced to prison terms of up to life jail for refusing to fight in the DRC, a first for the Burundian National Defense Force (FDNB).

Within military circles and the civil society, many are now calling for thorough investigations and exemplary sanctions against those allegedly responsible.

Some soldiers also hope that these legal proceedings will help restore discipline, professionalism, and trust within the FDNB, which has already been severely weakened by internal tensions and the consequences of the conflict in eastern Congo.