Burunga : local officials and Imbonerakure accused of assault

SOS Médias Burundi

Musongati, August 25, 2025 – A resident of Mutwana village, in Musongati district, Burunga province in southern Burundi, was violently attacked early Saturday evening, August 23, by local officials and members of the ruling party’s youth league, the Imbonerakure.

According to several witnesses, around 5:40 PM, Gervais Hakizimana was arrested by Vincent Nemerimana, village chief, and Bernard Ntirandekura, local CNDD-FDD leader, accompanied by a group of Imbonerakure, one of whom was nicknamed Gisito. Officially, they accused him of conducting an election campaign while the official election period was closed. This campaign concerned the village elections held on Monday, August 25.

But local sources indicate that it was more of a settling of scores : Gervais Hakizimana had previously contested a cow case involving Cyriaque Komezurugendo, a CNDD-FDD official in the Butezi region.

Thrown to the ground and beaten, Gervais claims to have suffered serious violence. The officials present even reportedly ordered the police to take him to the police station, not to hear him, but to continue the abuse out of sight. When he pleaded, “If I’ve done something wrong, bring me to justice, but don’t break my bones!”, the village chief reportedly replied, “What justice? It’s in the hands of the CNDD-FDD!”

After several hours of beatings, he was released and ordered to disappear. He still suffers from intense pain all over his body. On Sunday, he attempted to file a complaint with the Giharo police commissioner, but the police chief informed him that the judicial police officers (OPJ) responsible for electoral matters would not be available until Tuesday.

A persistent climate of intimidation in Musongati

Residents of the district are denouncing an increasingly worrying situation:

Arbitrary arrests following simple personal or political conflicts;

Beatings inflicted by Imbonerakure, often with the complicity of local officials;

Pressure exerted against citizens wrongly accused of political activities outside the time limit;

Complaints left unanswered, reinforcing a feeling of impunity.

Several witnesses now admit to remaining silent in the face of injustice, for fear of suffering the same fate as Gervais Hakizimana.