Burundi : children targeted by traffickers during summer holidays

SOS Médias Burundi

Bujumbura, August 4, 2026 – While pupils are enjoying their summer holidays, the National Observatory for Combating Transnational Crime (ONLCT) is warning of a surge in child trafficking in Burundi. The organization is calling on parents, administrative authorities, and communities to be extra vigilant against trafficking networks that are taking advantage of this period to recruit children.

This warning comes in the context of the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, observed annually on July 30. On this occasion, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reiterated the importance of strengthening prevention, victim identification, and the protection of those exposed to this form of exploitation, particularly the most vulnerable.

Summer holidays : a high-risk period

According to Prime Mbarubukeye, the legal representative of the ONLCT (National Observatory for the Fight Against Trafficking in Children), July and August are a particularly favorable period for trafficking networks.

Investigations conducted by the organization show that these networks take advantage of school closures and the economic vulnerability of many families to recruit children, often under the pretext of offering them work or better living conditions elsewhere.

The children are then allegedly smuggled to Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, and certain Arab countries.

The Rutana case

The ONLCT recalls that during the summer holidays of 2025, twenty traffickers were arrested in the district of Rutana, in Burunga province, in southeastern Burundi, not far from the border with Tanzania, while attempting to smuggle 118 children into Tanzania.

The individuals arrested were subsequently convicted by the Rutana First Instance Court.

For the organization, this case demonstrates the existence of networks that specifically target children during periods of greatest vulnerability.

Vulnerability linked to several factors

The ONLCT identifies several factors that contribute to child trafficking : school closures during holidays, socio-economic difficulties faced by households, population mobility, and the search for income.

These situations expose children to forced labor, domestic, economic, or sexual exploitation, as well as other forms of transnational crime.

The ONLCT calls for heightened vigilance

The organization recommends that parents closely monitor their children’s activities and movements during the holidays. It also calls on administrative officials and local communities to promptly report any missing children or suspicious recruitment.

The ONLCT encourages the establishment of early warning systems at the village level to facilitate interventions by the relevant authorities.

A phenomenon that continues to claim victims

Recently, several children have been intercepted or turned back, particularly at the border with Tanzania. Traffickers exploit children’s innocence, the naivety of some families, and household poverty to lure them into their networks.

Some children, especially girls, have been found in alarming conditions. Cases of abuse and exploitation have also been reported.

The Burundian authorities have established several mechanisms to combat this phenomenon, including a police force dedicated to the protection of minors. The Burundian Penal Code also provides for severe penalties against perpetrators of human trafficking.

But despite these measures, the phenomenon persists. Civil society actors believe that the fight remains difficult, particularly due to the alleged involvement of certain officials at various levels, which undermines efforts to permanently dismantle trafficking networks.