Gitega : the province plagued by violence and summary executions

Bujumbura, September 2, 2025 — Gitega province, once a haven of relative peace, is now rocked by a wave of disturbing violence. On Tuesday, September 2, two people were killed in the space of a few hours in the province, sparking shock and anger among the population.

The first victim, Remegie Murekambanze, was shot dead around 5:30 p.m. in Nyabisaka sub-village, Ntobwe village, Mungwa zone, by a PNB (Burundi National Police) officer. According to several witnesses, police officer Élie Butoyi shot the victim more than twenty times, who allegedly resisted being transferred to police cells in Mungwa. Seriously injured, Remegie died shortly after being admitted to the emergency department of Gitega Regional Hospital. The Ntobwe village chief, Sylvestre Niyonkuru, confirmed the incident, which sparked intense local outrage. The population is demanding that the police officer be tried in flagrante delicto.

Earlier in the morning, another tragedy was reported in the Shatanya neighborhood. The lifeless body of a man, identified as Jean Marie, aged around thirty years, was found on the neighborhood soccer field. Originally from Nyamagana village in Bugendana district, Jean Marie worked as a watchman at a pharmacy located across from the Kombokombo building. According to residents, he was killed while attempting to confront suspected bandits before his body was abandoned on the field. The police confirmed the information and opened an investigation. The body was transferred to the morgue of the Gitega Regional Hospital.

If the authorities fail to provide a clear response, there is a serious risk that violence will become entrenched in the daily lives of Gitega residents. Between score-settling disguised as suicides and summary executions of suspected thieves, the social fabric threatens to tear itself apart. Once relatively peaceful, the province now seems to be sliding toward a normalization of brutality—a development many fear and that only a surge of government action could halt.

Since June 2025, SOS Médias Burundi has already recorded more than 35 people killed in unclear circumstances, with bodies found hanging from trees, in their homes, or lying in rivers, reinforcing fear and anger among the population.