Bujumbura : Banyamulenge in turmoil, arrests on the rise

SOS Médias Burundi

Bujumbura, September 14, 2026—Several members of the Banyamulenge community have been arrested in recent days in Bujumbura, Burundi’s commercial capital, by Burundian intelligence services, amid heightened tensions between Burundi and Rwanda and the ongoing war in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Among those arrested are pastors Jalos Nkunda Kilaya, Gédéon Nzayitegaho, and Mark Ntayoberwa, as well as Murama Gatonzi. The exact circumstances of some of the arrests and the reasons given by the authorities remain unclear.

A pastor arrested at Bujumbura Airport

According to several reports gathered in Bujumbura, Pastor Jalos Nkunda Kilaya was arrested on September 8, 2026, at Melchior Ndadaye International Airport, the only international airport in the small East African nation, as he was about to board a flight to Rwanda.

Local sources claim that his arrest was carried out under the supervision of Brigadier General Domitien Niyonkuru, head of domestic intelligence at the National Intelligence Service (SNR).

After his arrest, intelligence services took him to his home for a search, according to the same sources.

The precise reasons for this arrest have not been officially released. Some reports mention his possession of a Rwandan passport. These details could not be independently verified.

More arrests in the following days

Two days later, on September 10, more Banyamulenge were arrested in Bujumbura, including Pastor Gédéon Nzayitegaho, head of the Carmel Church, located in the Mutakura neighborhood, north of the commercial capital.

According to testimonies gathered in Bujumbura, the head of the Carmel Church was arrested directly in his church, on 7th Avenue in Mutakura, while he was in front of the congregation.

According to these testimonies, intelligence agents then took him to the SNR headquarters, located near Regina Mundi Cathedral. This location is regularly cited by human rights organizations and relatives of detainees as a site where acts of torture and ill-treatment have been reported.

No official reason for his arrest has been given to his family, according to his relatives. Since his arrest, his family claims they have not been allowed to visit him and say they lack precise information about his health or any charges against him.

Pastor Mark Ntayoberwa of Cornerstone Church, as well as Murama Gatonzi, are also among those arrested during this period.

Reasons for arrest remain unclear

Regarding Murama Gatonzi, some reports from Bujumbura indicate a case related to the alleged issuance of immigration documents deemed irregular by the relevant authorities.

These accusations have not been publicly confirmed by any judicial authority. Those involved are presumed innocent.

For the other individuals arrested, the precise reasons remain difficult to ascertain.

The situation is causing concern among the families. Several relatives say they have not received sufficient information about the detention location or the health of those arrested.

A community caught in regional tensions

The Banyamulenge are a Tutsi minority in South Kivu, in eastern DRC. Over the decades, this community has been regularly portrayed by some of its detractors as foreign to Congo and associated with Rwanda, fueling community tensions in the provinces of North and South Kivu.

In South Kivu, the armed group Twirwaneho, primarily composed of Banyamulenge fighters, has become an ally of the politico-military coalition Congo River Alliance-M23 (AFC-M23).

The AFC-M23 controls several areas of North and South Kivu, including the provincial capitals, Goma and Bukavu. Kinshasa accuses Rwanda of supporting this coalition, an accusation Kigali denies.

Burundi, for its part, has deployed its army alongside the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC), the Congolese army, and the Wazalendo militias supported by Kinshasa, in the war against the AFC-M23 and its allies.

“Whenever there are losses on the ground, the Banyamulenge are targeted, or when there are tensions between Rwanda and Burundi,” a Congolese journalist covering the situation in eastern DRC told SOS Médias Burundi.

Banyamulenge settled in Burundi

In Burundi, the Banyamulenge are present in both refugee camps and cities, particularly in Bujumbura, Burundi’s commercial capital, where United Nations agencies and the central administration are concentrated.

Recently, security measures targeting certain Congolese nationals have caused particular concern among members of the community. An initial wave of checks and arrests targeted Banyamulenge foreign currency traders before extending, according to information gathered in Bujumbura, to Congolese refugees living in urban areas.

The community also remembers the Gatumba massacre. On the night of August 13-14, 2004, 166 Congolese refugees were killed in a transit camp under United Nations protection in Gatumba, western Burundi, not far from the border with the DRC. Among the victims were 154 Banyamulenge and 12 Babembe.

More than twenty years after this tragedy, the victims’ families and the Banyamulenge community continue to demand justice.

The war in the east at the heart of concerns

With the ongoing war in eastern DRC, the Banyamulenge find themselves at the heart of several regional fault lines. On one side, their community is associated, in some discourses, with Rwanda and the armed group Twirwaneho. On the other, Banyamulenge living in Burundi or as refugees are not necessarily involved in the activities of these groups.

This distinction is at the heart of the concerns expressed by some members of the community, who fear being targeted because of their origin or their perceived ties to Rwanda.

President Évariste Ndayishimiye has received members of the Banyamulenge diaspora who have come to Burundi in recent months. According to information gathered by SOS Médias Burundi, some have delivered speeches highly critical of Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

In this context, the recent arrests in Bujumbura are causing serious concern among the families and loved ones of those detained.

Many are demanding to know where those arrested are being held, the precise reasons for their arrest, and any charges that may be brought against them.

At this stage, the Burundian authorities have not publicly commented on all of these arrests, nor have they provided details on the reasons for the detentions reported in recent days.