Burundi : the Red-Tabara rebel group prosecuted for crimes against humanity
The office of the Attorney General of the Republic of Burundi announced that it had opened two criminal cases for the attacks in Gatumba (Bujumbura) and Buringa (Bubanza) which killed nearly thirty people, including law enforcement officers. The Red-Tabara movement which claimed responsibility for these attacks denounces an instrumentalization of justice. INFO SOS Médias Burundi
The statement is from the Attorney General of the Republic, last Thursday evening in Bujumbura, the commercial city. For Léonard Manirakiza, heinous crimes have been committed and deserve exemplary repression.
“In view of this macabre toll, we realize that the terrorists of the Red-Tabara movement targeted civilians including children and women and not soldiers. Worse still for the Buringa attack, these terrorist criminals surprised a grieving household and thus took responsibility for heinous crimes against humanity,” he announced.
For this purpose, two criminal cases were submitted to the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic in Bujumbura.
“The Burundian justice is more determined than ever to pursue terrorist perpetrators, co-perpetrators, and accomplices until they are sentenced to exemplary repression,” concludes the Attorney General.
The attacks which are the subject of judicial investigations according to the Bujumbura public prosecutor’s office are those of Vugizo in Gatumba (Bujumbura province) and Buringa in Gihanga (Bubanza) which occurred respectively last December and February.
War of numbers…
Even though the Red-Tabara rebel movement has claimed responsibility for all of these attacks, it does not recognize the victim figures put forward by the Burundian government.
Patrick Nahimana, spokesperson for this movement, speaks of “16 soldiers and police officers killed” in the two attacks. This was when Jérôme Niyonzima, spokesperson for the Burundian government, put forward a figure of “29 people killed including a soldier and a police officer”.
The rebellion defends itself against it. “We did not attack civilians because they are the ones we are protecting. On the contrary, we attacked military and police posts,” said Patrick Nahimana.
“This is why we reject this investigation because it is biased from the outset. We want a consensual independent commission and we are ready to contribute so that the light shines in broad daylight,” he believes.
Red-Tabara minimizes these criminal cases.
“How can we trust a justice system that depends on and receives orders from generals, intelligence services and the ruling party? These legal files do not bind us and do not concern us in any way!” insists the Red-Tabara spokesperson.
While political actors like Léonce Ngendakumana, supporter of the Arusha agreement, propose a dialogue between the belligerents, the President of the Republic washes his hands of it.
“How can we talk to those who kill children, women and the elderly? They have nothing to claim otherwise they would direct their attacks on military posts! They are only terrorists to be brought before justice,” suggested President Evariste Ndayishimiye, during his last public conference in December 2023 in Cankuzo in the east of the country.
But for the rebels, the only way to resolve the conflict is through dialogue.
“For these labels of ‘terrorists’ that they stick to us, it does not surprise us and does not prevent us from continuing our fight. They were called tribal-genocidal terrorists in the 90s, but that did not prevent them from sitting on the negotiating table for the great benefit of peace,” adds Mr. Nahimana, who affirms that the grouo armed forces of which he is spokesperson are carrying out attacks against Burundi and, according to the movement, retreating towards the DRC reserves in South Kivu, while Gitega says he is convinced that the rebels are sheltered and supported by Rwanda.
Flaws and suspicions
On February 26, the day after the Buringa attack which left 9 dead, according to the Burundian authorities, Prime Minister Gervais Ndirakobuca traveled to the region. He recognized “flaws”.
“Security is the driving force behind everything. Without security, you can’t get anywhere. With the Gatumba attack and this second Buringa attack, that means there are gaps,” said Mr. Ndirakobuca in his luminary remarks in the presence of administration and security officials, before bringing the journalists out.
And he continued, “The role of ensuring security does not fall only to the military and police or to the administration authorities. It is the role of all of us, all the residents. No one can be indifferent to that. I know that we have the necessary information on these vulnerabilities.
For Prime Minister Gervais Ndirakobuca, “We know these persons who disrupt security; some are our children, others our brothers and others are our cousins. If someone participates to such acts, we have to treat them as pariah. We have to find solutions together so that this doesn’t happen again”.
