Kayanza : life jail for three men convicted in a case of a young man killed by two Imbonerakure

Victor Niyonkuru, Lazare Niyongabo and Cyprien Bizimana were sentenced by the Kayanza Court in northern Burundi. He found them guilty of the murder of Philippe Nsabimana. The latter was assassinated on May 10 not far from the border with Rwanda. The concerned persons have pleaded not guilty.

INFO SOS Médias Burundi

The sentence against the three men was pronounced by the Kayanza First Instance Court on Monday afternoon. The three men were accused of killing Philippe Nsabimana last Friday not far from the river Kanyaru, separating Burundi and Rwanda before dumping his body in the river. In the freshness of the facts, SOS Médias Burundi had reported two perpetrators, members of the CNDD-FDD youth league, the Imbonerakure, according to local sources.

The three accused rejected the allegations of the public prosecutor, although supported by the testimonies of residents and local authorities, saying that “Philippe Nsabimana drowned in the river Kanyaru while he was trying to recover his bag of minerals that he was going to sell in Rwanda.

But the judges based themselves on a report from an OPJ (Judicial Police Officer) which showed that the victim was stabbed in the head and on the statements of witnesses. The three men, in addition to life imprisonment, will have to pay compensation costs of up to 15 million Burundi francs.

The men convicted by the Kayanza Court worked for a businessman who operates mineral sites in the district of Kabarore in the province of Kayanza. Philippe Nsabimana’s family had refused to bury him until Monday, demanding that the costs of his burial be paid by this businessman.