Police Brigadier General Bertin Gahungu transferred to a Bujumbura hospital

SOS Médias Burundi

Bujumbura, September 10, 2025 – Police Brigadier General Bertin Gahungu was transferred on Tuesday afternoon to a hospital in the commercial capital, Bujumbura, sources familiar with the case told SOS Médias Burundi.

According to our information, the former head of the judicial police and internal intelligence service had already received a visit from a doctor on Monday, September 8, at Bujumbura’s central prison, known as Mpimba, where he was taken last Saturday. He had been incarcerated there after spending more than two weeks in the National Intelligence Service (SNR) cells since his arrest on August 21.

The charges

According to our sources, Brigadier General Bertin Gahungu is prosecuted for “insulting the Head of State and slanderous remarks against several senior Burundian officials, including the Permanent Secretary of the National Security Council.” Investigators also suspect him of being behind an anonymous account on the social media X (formerly Twitter). They are also reportedly grounding their investigations on telephone conversations the officer allegedly had with other individuals.

Insulting the Head of State is punishable under the Burundian law by a prison sentence of six months to five years, along with a fine of between 10,000 and 50,000 Burundi francs. In most cases, those prosecuted for this offense also see their charges upgraded to more serious ones, such as undermining the internal security of the state.