Gitega : a man lynched to death, accused of stealing a goat, two people arrested

SOS Médias Burundi

Gitega, July 2, 2026 – Venant Munyene died after being brutally beaten by residents of Nyamagandika village, in Gitega district and province, central Burundi. Accused of stealing a goat, he succumbed to his injuries after being taken to a police cell. Two people suspected of participating in the lynching have been arrested.

According to a witness, Venant Munyene was caught stealing a goat on June 30. After his arrest, several residents of Nyamagandika village, overcome with anger, gathered and violently beat him with clubs and other blunt objects.

This information is confirmed by Vital Ntawukirishiga, chief of Nyamagandika village. He explains that members of the joint security committee then intervened to remove the victim from the crowd and take him to the Makebuko police station. It was in this detention center that Venant Munyene ultimately succumbed to his injuries.

According to the same source, Éric Ndayishimiye and Germain Bukuru, presented as the main suspects in this case, were arrested on June 30. They are held in the Makebuko police station, where they remain at the disposal of the justice system as the investigation continues.

This new case has reignited concerns about the resurgence of mob justice in Gitega province. Members of the civil society are denouncing an increasingly worrying phenomenon, marked by the lynching of people suspected of offenses before any legal proceedings have taken place.

On June 29, Fortuné Gaëtan Zongo, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Burundi, condemned the continued extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture, arbitrary arrests, and impunity that continue to characterize the human rights situation in the country. A few days earlier, the Catholic bishops of Burundi had also expressed their deep concern about the increasing number of assassinations, disappearances, and violations of fundamental rights. These statements provoked a strong reaction from President Évariste Ndayishimiye, who denounced the criticism as unfounded.

At the beginning of June 2026, three suspected bandits were also killed with clubs in Muyange village, also in the district and province of Gitega, illustrating the persistence of acts of popular justice in this part of the small East African nation.