Rumonge : a CNDD-FDD activist arrested for rape

A CNDD-FDD activist was arrested in Rumonge for the alleged rape of a 14-year-old pupil. This case occurs in a context where illegal mediations are obstructing justice, a situation denounced by the local population. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

Ézéchiel Nduwimana, a CNDD-FDD activist from Rutumo village, in the Minago zone, district and province of Rumonge (southwest Burundi), was arrested on Monday, January 27, 2025. He is prosecuted for the rape of a 14-year-old girl. Married, he was first detained in the dungeons of the Minago zone before being transferred, on Thursday, January 30, to the provincial police station in Rumonge.

The young victim receives medical care

The victim, a fifth-year primary school pupil at the Magara 2 basic school, in the district of Bugarama, is from the Rukamba sub-village, Rutumo village.

According to administration and police sources, the alleged attacker was with her in a house rented for this purpose. The young girl was taken to Rumonge hospital to receive appropriate care.

The file of Ézéchiel Nduwimana was transmitted to the public prosecutor’s office in Rumonge on Friday, January 31.

Justice hampered by accomplices

Inhabitants of Rumonge denounce the complicity of certain judicial police officers in the management of rape cases. According to them, the latter often try to mediate between the victims’ families and the alleged attackers in order to settle these cases amicably, in exchange for financial compensation.

A recent case illustrates this practice: on January 14, 2025, Placide Nshimirimana, a judicial police officer in Rumonge, was arrested and transferred to Murembwe central prison (same province). He is accused of having facilitated an arrangement between the family of a young girl from the Kigwena zone, a rape victim, and the alleged perpetrator, Onesime Kagoma.

According to testimonies, Kagoma did not comply with his commitments after the birth of the baby resulting from the assault. The victim’s parents, who had a document signed in front of the law enforcement officer (OPJ), then took legal action. The public prosecutor’s office in Rumonge immediately ordered the officer’s arrest and his transfer to Murembwe central prison.

Impunity fostered by the status of the aggressors

Local sources report that cases related to sexual violence are often poorly investigated, especially when the suspects benefit from a privileged status. When they are rich or affiliated with the ruling party, some legal proceedings are deliberately slowed down or abandoned.

Faced with this situation, inhabitants of Rumonge are demanding a more rigorous and transparent justice system to combat the impunity surrounding sexual crimes in the region.