Burundi : General Romuald Ndababishije detained with three other police officers, questions remain

SOS Médias Burundi

Bujumbura, October 22, 2026 — Police Brigadier General Romuald Ndababishije, Deputy Commissioner General for Migration in Burundi, is detained along with three other police officers, according to several police sources. Arrested on Saturday, October 17, in Bujumbura, the country’s commercial capital, the day after his return from a mission to Ethiopia, the high-ranking officer remains the subject of much speculation. No official statement has yet been released regarding the reasons for these arrests.

SOS Médias Burundi announced the general’s detention in a previous article, which can be read here:

Three other police officers arrested before the general

According to sources contacted, the three other police officers were arrested before the general’s arrest. These include two members of his team, one of whom is his driver, as well as a police sub-lieutenant.

The first of the four police officers was reportedly arrested on Wednesday, October 14, according to the same sources. The general’s driver was reportedly apprehended in the Kayanza region of Butanyerera province, in northern Burundi.

Uncertain motives

In the absence of official explanations, police sources suggest a case involving passports, in which a senior official from the Presidency of the Republic is allegedly implicated. This information could not be independently verified and does not, at this stage, allow for the precise reasons for the detention of the four police officers.

Tense atmosphere at the Migration Headquarters

Several police sources contacted by SOS Médias Burundi describe a tense atmosphere at the headquarters of the General Commissariat of Migration, located in northern Bujumbura.

Some claim that the Commissioner General of Migration remained holed up in his office Monday night into Tuesday, and then for much of Tuesday. The reasons for this situation remain unknown.

“With the election period, there are several issues at stake, and Ndababishije’s position is coveted by many others,” several police sources believe, suggesting rivalries surrounding this strategic post.

The conditions of their detention remain unknown.

It is not known whether General Ndababishije’s family has been able to visit him since his arrest.

At the time of publication, no police or administrative authority had officially commented on the arrests, any charges brought against the four police officers, or the conditions of their detention.

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Police Brigadier General Romuald Ndababishije, Deputy Commissioner General of Migration in Burundi, is held by intelligence services in Bujumbura along with three other police officers. The circumstances of their arrest remain unclear (DR/SOS Médias Burundi)