Kirundo : tortured to death, mutilated, and thrown into the lake – a crime that chills the region

SOS Médias Burundi

Kirundo, June 2, 2025 – A man accused of rape without evidence was beaten in front of local authorities, mutilated, and then found dead on the shores of Lake Cohoha. The tragedy of Léonidas Ncamihigo reveals, once again, the shadow of a parallel justice system taking hold in certain villages of northern Burundi.

It all began last Tuesday at the Rukuramigabo trading center, in the Cewe zone, Kirundo district. Léonidas Ncamihigo, in his fifties, was apprehended by a group of Imbonerakure – young CNDD-FDD activists – who accused him of raping a woman with a mental disability. The evidence is unclear, the testimonies contradictory.

Rather than handing him over to the judicial authorities, the Imbonerakure took him to the shores of Lake Cohoha, where they allegedly began to beat him violently. A chilling fact : the Rukuramigabo village chief and his deputy were present at the scene, according to witnesses, without intervening.

A mutilated body, unspeakable horror

On Saturday, May 31, fishermen discovered a floating body, horribly mutilated. The victim was quickly identified : Léonidas Ncamihigo. The scene was unbearable. His tongue had been torn out, his eyes gouged out, and his genitals severed. An act of torture of extreme cruelty.

A local official, speaking on condition of anonymity, described it as a premeditated act, far beyond a simple blunder:

“We wanted to silence him for good.” This wasn’t mob justice, it was an execution.”

Arrests and outrage

Faced with the outcry following the discovery of the body, the police arrested five suspects, including the Rukuramigabo village chief and his deputy. They are currently held in the Kirundo prosecutor’s office cell, awaiting the outcome of the investigation.

The victim’s family, however, is furious :

“Our brother was slaughtered like an animal, and those who were supposed to protect him watched without doing anything. We don’t want excuses, we want justice,” confided a relative, his voice thick with emotion.

A climate of impunity is worrying

This tragedy highlights a structural problem : the rise of partisan groups in managing local conflicts, to the detriment of formal justice. Local NGOs point out that this is not the first time such a case has occurred in Kirundo province.

“The most serious thing is that these acts are often covered up or ignored by the authorities. Impunity has become the norm here,” warns a human rights defender based in the north of the country.

What the population is demanding : transparent investigations, exemplary sanctions, and an urgent reassessment of the security role delegated to partisan structures. Beyond the shock, the question of protecting the rule of law is, once again, being raised in the villages of northern Burundi.