Gitega : a police officer shoots a motorcyclist in the city center, anger rises

SOS Médias Burundi

Gitega, September 29, 2025 – An incident involving a police officer and a motorcycle taxi rider sparked outrage on Sunday, September 28, 2025, in downtown Gitega, the political capital of Burundi.

According to several witnesses, around 2:30 p.m., police officer Djuma Moise Ntirampeba attempted to seize Égide I.’s motorcycle not far from the Grand Mosque. When this attempt failed, he opened fire. However, no human losses or injuries were reported.

The incident angered motorcycle taxi riders, who denounced “a serious breach of ethics and professionalism in the exercise of police duties.”

This incident comes less than a month after another tragedy. On September 2, 2025, police officer Élie Butoyi fired more than twenty shots at a motorcyclist, Remegie M., in Ntobwe village in Gitega district. Forcibly arrested and taken to the Mungwa zone cell, the victim succumbed to his injuries at the Gitega regional hospital.

Faced with the repetition of such acts, motorcycle taxi riders in Gitega are demanding that police officers Djuma Moise Ntirampeba and Élie Butoyi be arrested and brought to justice to face justice.

A police spokesperson was not available to comment on these allegations. However, local administration authorities confirmed the facts to SOS Médias Burundi.