Muyinga: a man beaten up by a hill chief and Imbonerakure

A man from Gikwiye hill, in Gasorwe zone and commune, Muyinga province (northeast of Burundi) was violently beaten on Tuesday by the village chief with a local Imbonerakure (members of the youth league of the CNDD-FDD party). The victim is currently hospitalized at the Muyinga provincial hospital while the main suspect is detained in the police cell in Muyinga. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

According to information collected on site, the victim, Macumi, had just visited his wife admitted at the Gasorwe health center this Tuesday, around 6 p.m.

Arriving at Gikwite village, Macumi heard cries from a person seemingly in distress.

“It was a man named Bagabo of the Twa ethnic group who was being violently beaten by the hill chief Michel Karibwami. Bagabo was surprised by the latter while he was looking for firewood in a field which was not his. Macumi tried to intervene. It was then that Michel Karibwami and the Imbonerakure who accompanied him let Bagabo attack Macumi”, explains a witness to the scene.

The victim’s genitals twisted

Our sources on site report that Macumi received blows all over his body. His genitals were also twisted, add the same sources. “He urinates blood when he needs it,” said a relative.

The victim was taken to the Gasorwe health center the same day. Seeing the seriousness of his condition, the nurses transferred him to Muyinga hospital. His state of health remains critical, according to our sources on site. This hill chief is currently in the hands of the police.

The local population asks the justice system to do its job and also demands the arrest of the Imbonerakure accomplices in this affair.