Gitega : reporter Jean Noël Manirakiza of the Iwacu newspaper beaten up by the police

Jean Noël Manirakiza, correspondent for the Iwacu newspaper, was molested and his equipment confiscated by Évariste Habogorimana, the provincial police commissioner in Gitega (political capital). The Iwacu newspaper issued a press release protesting what it describes as an “act of violence and intimidation by the police commissioner” and demands the return of the journalist’s working tools.

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According to corroborating sources, “it was around 11 p.m. on Wednesday night when the journalist was having a drink in a bistro located in the Yoba neighborhood, when a vehicle belonging to the provincial police commissioner in Gitega, police colonel Évariste Habogorimana, stopped.”

In its press release issued following the events, the Iwacu newspaper specifies that “the police commissioner went directly to the table where Jean-Noël was with his friends, Bienvenu Nziguye, journalist at RTNB, and Gilbert Niyongere, responsible for Senate communications.

Evariste Habogorimana then made threats against the correspondent by declaring: “We are following closely and we know everything you write, you will see.” Following this, the press release continued, he attempted to physically attack Jean-Noël and brutally turned towards Bienvenu Nziguye and Gilbert Niyongere, forcing them to flee for their safety.

According to the reporter, Colonel Habogorimana then began to slap him. He then ordered his guards to confiscate his bag containing his working materials.

“The items seized consist of a laptop, a camera, a recorder, my press card, a power bank, notebooks and pens,” said the correspondent.

Journalist Jean Noël Manirakiza says he does not know the motives for this act but believes he is a victim of his profession as a journalist.

The Iwacu newspaper demands, among other things, the immediate return of the material confiscated from its correspondent and asks the Burundian authorities “to take immediate measures to investigate this incident, sanction those responsible and guarantee the safety and protection of all journalists working in the country”.

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Photo : Jean Noel Manirakiza, at his residence in Gitega