Photo of the week : journalists struggle to leave Bujumbura to cover elections

SOS Médias Burundi

Bujumbura, June 9, 2025 — Last Wednesday, June 4, 2025, on the eve of the June 5 legislative and district elections, several Burundian journalists were still stranded in Bujumbura, unable to reach their assigned areas. This situation, documented by the photo that marked this week, illustrates logistical difficulties faced by many news professionals, which risked compromising election coverage in sensitive regions.

On Wednesday evening, as Burundi prepared to vote, dozens of journalists remained gathered at the Maison de la Presse, awaiting transportation and fuel. Several of them were assigned to remote areas such as Rutana, Bukinanyana (Cibitoke), or Nyanza-Lac (Makamba), where access remains difficult. “We have no budget, no fuel, and above all, no clear coordination,” one of them confided that evening.
“It’s becoming practically impossible to reach certain isolated districts on time,” he added.

Some so-called “lucky” journalists were finally able to leave early in the morning, without rest, to cover the election in particularly trying conditions. Others were unable to leave the capital on time.

High-risk areas, such as those near the Kibira natural reserve, were not immune to these logistical difficulties. The late deployment of journalists compromised, in several cases, complete and effective coverage of the election in these regions.

Only journalists integrated into the media synergy established to cover the elections received minimal supervision. The others had to obtain special accreditation from the CENI, a process perceived as cumbersome and dissuasive.

On Wednesday evening, around 9 p.m., a member of the media synergy confided :
“The vehicles are being refueled. We’re waiting for the situation to improve before we can leave. It’s exhausting.”

In discussions among journalists, many preferred to remain silent, out of caution, about these logistical difficulties on the eve of a national election.

The photo taken that evening, showing these journalists gathered in the Maison de la Presse, waiting, will remain one of the powerful images of this election week in Burundi.

Our photo : Burundian journalists gathered at the Maison de la Presse on Wednesday June 4, 2025, waiting for vehicles to join their assigned areas on the eve of the legislative and district elections (SOS Médias Burundi)