Giharo : attempted arrest of a district leader of the UPRONA party

Usuel Ntakarutimana, leader of the UPRONA party (Union for National Progress) in Giharo district in Rutana province, southeast Burundi, was the victim of an attempted arrest by the district leader in collaboration with CNDD-FDD party officials. According to witnesses, Usuel Ntakarutimana was at his workplace at the Giharo post office on Monday, July 22 when the incident occurred. Members of Rwagasore’s party in Giharo district are demanding protection for UPRONA party leaders in particular and all opposition party activists. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

The perpetrators have been identified. These are the administrator of Giharo, Lydie Nihimbazwe, Rénovat Hakizimana, secretary of the CNDD-FDD and Alexis Baraguma alias Ruganzizindi, secretary of this party in the Giharo zone, who came to besiege the offices of the post office in Giharo. According to witnesses, their objective was to arrest Usuel Ntakarutimana, a post office agent and leader of the UPRONA party in Giharo district.

According to the same sources, he was accused of having been corrupted by clients of this post office, which the UPRONA party activists do not believe.

“He is accused of taking bribes to issue payment slips to farmers who come to pay the balances of agricultural inputs. They came with the intention of arresting him. This created panic among service seekers at the post office who testified in favor of this representative of the UPRONA party,” said a UPRONA member met at the town center of Giharo district.

They turned back, their mission failed, as explained by UPRONA party officials in Rutana province.

UPRONA party activists are demanding that this representative of their party be protected, especially since several opposition party activists in Giharo district have always been persecuted, and even killed.

In 2023, the UPRONA leader was the victim of a detention described as arbitrary. He was arrested when he went to visit a friend detained in the provincial prison.

He was held in the cell of the district police station in Rutana for more than 2 months.