Burundi : President Neva wants to relieve prison congestion but his lieutenants are slowing down the operation

Last Friday, Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye launched the operation to relieve prison congestion at Muramvya central prison. He acknowledged that remand centers are overcrowded in his country, which is a burden for the country and families of the detainees. The release of prisoners who benefited from the presidential pardon should continue in other prisons, but the majority of the beneficiaries remain in detention.

INFO SOS Médias Burundi

President Neva announced that the pardon granted to certain prisoners is part of his vision of “relieving prison congestion”, a vision that he has embodied since his early accession to power in June 2020 following the unexpected death of Pierre Nkurunziza, his predecessor, he insisted.

“To be forgiven, it means that you have sinned, we do not forgive an innocent person. It is therefore an opportunity offered to our brothers and sisters so that they pull themselves together, so that they can change…”, he declared from Muramvya prison in central Burundi where the release of the first prisoners took place.

Prisoners, a burden for the country and the families of the detainees

According to the Burundian president, the detainees constitute a burden for their families as well as the country. He says that the amount allocated to prisons each year is greater than an amount that the government used to build, for example, a regional vocational training center for young people.

“Imagine! The multi-sectoral regional center that we built in Rusi is worth 12 billion Burundi francs. It accommodates 1080 internal learners,” he revealed. The Rusi center is located in the district of Shombo in the province of Karusi (central-eastern Burundi). According to President Évariste Ndayishimiye, the government spends nearly 15 billion each year to care for prisoners. “How many hospitals, how many schools can we build using the same amount?”, Mr. Ndayishimiye asked.

Slow implementation

Since last Friday, candidates for presidential pardon have been informed in the various respective prisons of their release and asked to prepare their luggage.

Gitega

In the central prison of Gitega, the political capital for example, the beneficiaries of this operation have not yet left their cells while they have been waiting since Friday afternoon.

“The prison officials said that they are waiting for the team of the commission in charge of implementing the measure so that it can bring the lists. It went to Ruyigi (east) first”, learned SOS Médias Burundi Monday evening.

Bujumbura

At the central prison of Bujumbura called Mpimba in the commercial city, many prisoners were not allowed to leave the prison even though they were on the list of prisoners to be released.

A police truck ready to take released prisoners back to their home districts (SOS Médias Burundi)

Last Friday, the director of this prison had promised the local media that they could go and cover the event. But the following day, he refused to allow the local press to attend the release of the prisoners from his house in order to “cover up the irregularities”.

Rumonge

In the province of Rumonge (southwest), at least 400 prisoners are to be released. According to information received by SOS Médias Burundi and confirmed by judicial sources, about 190 prisoners had been released as of this Sunday.

Anecdote

After his release, a certain Gérard Sindayigaya was re-arrested on Monday in the town center of Bururi (south). On the day of his release, he had stolen a motorcycle from a priest. He is held in the police cell in the Bururi town center. Gérard Sindayigaya is among the people who received the indulgence at the Rumonge prison known as Murembwe on Sunday.

Mission allowances

According to our sources, members of the commission in charge of implementing the presidential pardon are slowing down the operation to increase the number of days and thus receive more mission allowances. Hence they must go to each prison to observe the lists of prisoners benefiting from the presidential pardon.

“It’s absurd. Why do they have to go to all the prisons when the prison officials have all these lists, they who are the managers of the remand centers on a daily basis. No reason can explain the presence of members of the commission in each prison,” analyzes a Burundian journalist.

Inmates who are concerned by this measure are incarcerated for minor offenses. The small East African nation’s 11 prisons hosted 13,211 persons as of November 15, the day the presidential pardon campaign was launched. According to the plan, 5,442 prisoners are to benefit from the pardon, or 41% of the prison population.

Activists continue to call on the Burundian government to “release political and opinion prisoners”, which Burundian authorities are reluctant to listen to.

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A woman prisoner receives a release ticket from the hands of President Évariste Ndayishimiye (SOS Médias Burundi)