Bubanza : an Imbonerakure sentenced to 20 years in prison for murder

A member of the youth league of the CNDD-FDD party, an employee of the Bubanza hospital (western Burundi), was tried for the murder of a young woman and was sentenced to 20 years of penal servitude and payment of 10 million Burundi francs in damages. The case was tried in flagrante delicto at the Bubanza First Instance Court on Thursday. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

Radjabu Nsabimana was accused of killing a girl he helped to abort by injecting her with poison.

“Here is a syringe, a tampon and a catheter found at the scene of the crime in the victim Octavie Irambona,” said the public prosecutor.

The victim was the deputy-representative of the ruling party’s youth league in the Bubanza and Musigati districts.

“At the age of 24, the young girl had the ambition to join the army,” noted the victim’s parents.

Two defendants in this case, Radjabu Nsabimana and Barthélémy Niyimbona, have both pleaded not guilty.

“I was in Giko that day to rent a property that I wanted to exploit. Octavie was a facilitator and I went to her house to get her address. As I was getting ready to return, this girl felt unwell very serious, I tried to help her, in vain”, explained Radjabu without convincing the judges.

The public prosecutor, in his indictment, demonstrated that Radjabu helped the victim to have an abortion, but that this caused the irreparable.

His co-defendant, also a member of the same league, declared that he only rang the young girl to tell her where she could obtain Brarudi (Burundi Brewery Company) drinks which are now rare. She needed them to welcome Radjabu. He was acquitted by the Court.

The victim lived in Giko village, in Bubanza district. The irreparable happened on May 14 while she was preparing to join the army. She had alao reportedly tried to abort for this reason, local sources suspect.