Rumonge: three men including a ruling party official locked up

Three men have been detained at the police station in Rumonge province (southwestern Burundi) since last Saturday. They are all from Mutambara hill in the Gatete zone, Rumonge commune, in the same province of Rumonge. Police sources say they were arrested last Friday allegedly for their involvement in a case that throw into jail the hill chief. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

The first to be arrested is Majidi Jonathan after he filed claims against the chief of Mutambara hill for alleged adultery.

“He was called on the phone by a judicial police officer who is in charge of the file. Arrived at the police station, the officer forced Mr. Majidi to sign a report, the content of which is different from what he had said the day before,” say sources familiar with the matter.

He himself is reportedly accused of concubinage.

The second detainee for the same case is the secretary of the CNDD-FDD, the ruling party, on Mutambara hill. Alphée Ninyibuka is suspected of “relaying divisionist messages on an ethnic and political basis and mounting against the governor of Rumonge”.

This is said to be contained in a message that leaked to a WhatsApp group when he wanted to send it to another ruling party official.

He particularly asked him to “release the chief of the hill of Mutambara so that his deputy (a Tutsi) does not take over from him to lead the hill”. He notes, in the same message, that the third official on the list is a member of the CNL (main opposition party) who cannot manage Mutambara hill too, according to the accusations.

“The governor of Rumonge accuses him of indexing him in the message, speaking of the maneuvers of wanting to relocate from their plots, more than fifty families from Kayange to Mutambara”.

The third detainee is a certain Hamisi. He is accused of “attacking the governor of Rumonge publicly, accusing him of having no evidence to imprison the hill party secretary in Mutambara”. He is also member of the presidential party.

Arriving in front of the judicial police officer, Hamisi asked for forgiveness, pushing the Governor Léonard Niyonsaba to order his arrest.

The three men joined in detention Gashindi Sylvain, hill manager of Mutambara, jailed in the provincial police station since last Wednesday.