Songa: 23 Imbonerakure arrested for killing their peer

The 23 members of the CNDD-FDD youth league were arrested and sent to the custody last Sunday. They are suspected of having killed their peer. The murder for which they are being prosecuted took place in the locality of Gitsinda, in the commune of Songa in the province of Bururi (southern Burundi) on August 24.

INFO SOS Médias Burundi

According to police sources, the victim named Jean Claude was found dead on Gitsinda hill. He was an activist for the ruling party, the CNDD-FDD and was one of the members of its youth league.

It was children who were looking for firewood who discovered his body, police sources say.

“Some parts of his body were mutilated, he had many injuries too…”, witnesses say.

Why were the 23 Imbonerakure arrested?

One of the 23 detainees was caught in possession of the victim’s identity card and mobile phone, police sources in Songa say. Jean Claude had been missing since August 4. Residents claim that he had been kidnapped by Imbonerakure from the locality. They accused him of having had sexual relations with a local maid and had demanded a large sum of money from their peer. The sum they had demanded is not yet known. What is known, however, is that on the same day, Jean Claude went to the Kiryama center (same commune), accompanied by the Imbonerakure to withdraw money from a local financial institution to “corrupt his colleagues”.

Jean Claude was a teacher in a primary school in the region. He leaves behind a wife and three children. His family and neighbors are demanding independent investigations so that the perpetrators of this murder are seriously punished.

The Songa police say they have opened an investigation and explain that the 23 detainees were apprehended after the interrogation of the man who was caught in possession of the victim’s identity card and mobile phone.

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Imbonerakure in a paramilitary demonstration during a day dedicated to them (SOS Media Burundi)