Bujumbura : who are these alleged gunmen, arrested discreetly before being transferred to prisons?

Last Thursday, a team of alleged former rebels was transferred to the central prison of Bujumbura, called Mpimba. Its members had just spent several days in the dungeons of the National Intelligence Service (SNR) in the commercial capital. Elements of two other similar groups were sent to this same remand center and other prisons, after having passed through jails of the secret services, also. Some sources say that these are former rebels who were stationed in the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) including fighters from the Burundian armed group Red-Tabara. But sources close to this armed group refute this information.

INFO SOS Médias Burundi

In total, 20 alleged former rebels are detained in Mpimba. According to our information, these prisoners were arrested at different places and times. The only common point according to our sources : belonging to armed groups of Burundian origin based in the province of South Kivu in eastern Congo.

“They are said to be Red-Tabara fighters. Nineteen of them were arrested in the Rukoko natural reserve, a little over two months ago,” say our sources. According to sources close to the case, ten members of this group were armed with rifles when they were arrested, while nine others were not carrying weapons. Two leaders of this group remain in detention in the secret service dungeons in the commercial city of Bujumbura at a time when the rest of the team was scattered in different prisons including that of Bujumbura which hosts four. The Rukoko natural reserve borders South Kivu in Congo.

According to sources at the central prison of Bujumbura called Mpimba, a second team of 7 alleged former rebels was arrested in the Gatumba zone, not far from the border with Congo also, in western Burundi. Members of this group are all detained at the Mpimba prison. According to security sources, these detainees admitted that they belong to armed groups based in South Kivu.

“Most of them are Red-Tabara fighters. After their arrest, they explained that they intended to surrender to security services but this explanation did not convince the investigators because they brought it up after being surprised and overpowered by security services”, indicate our sources.

A third group comprises between twelve and twenty members, according to our sources. They were arrested in the province of Ngozi (northern Burundi). Nine of them are detained at Mpimba. The periods during which members of both groups were arrested remain unclear.

Who exactly are these prisoners?

Some people speak of alleged opponents that the government wants to “persecute at all costs”. But a political prisoner told SOS Médias Burundi that he recognized some former rebels.

However, several sources close to the Red-Tabara armed group said that “these are not our people. When our people are first arrested, they spend several months in the intelligence jails”.

Last mid-December, Lieutenant General Silas Ntigurirwa, Chief of Staff of President Évariste Ndayishimiye, had organized a three-day session with various actors to discuss a probable voluntary repatriation of rebels based in Congo. In the past, President Évariste Ndayishimiye has also mentioned this plan. But so far, no action has been taken in this direction.

Red-Tabara, the main Burundian armed group that has claimed attacks on the Burundian soil in recent years, is on the Burundian government’s list of terrorist movements.

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Residents notice a truck that was set on fire by gunmen in Buringa near the Rukoko natural reserve, February 26, 2024. The attack was blamed on Red-Tabara rebels (SOS Médias Burundi)