Cibitoke: a teacher sentenced to three years in prison for attempted rape of a student

SOS Médias Burundi

Cibitoke, 3 December 2025- The Cibitoke High Court sentenced Jean Bosco Bukuru, a teacher at the Cibitoke Technical High School (LTC), to three years in prison for attempting to rape one of his students, Sandrine Ndacayisaba, on Tuesday, 2 December 2025. Two other individuals involved in the case also received penalties.

The verdict was handed down at the Cibitoke High Court in Bujumbura province, western Burundi. In addition to the prison sentence, Bukuru was ordered to pay the costs associated with the legal proceedings.

Other defendants

Nicaise Niyogusenga, charged with complicity in the same case, was fined 100,000 Burundian francs. A third accused, Isaac Ntirampeba, also faced complicity charges according to the public prosecutor, but he was acquitted.

Reaction to the verdict

The trial, which lasted more than three hours, drew numerous citizens, including parents, and advocates for women’s and children’s rights. Many welcomed the court’s decision but considered the sentence for the main teacher too lenient given the severity of the crime.

Some observers called for harsher punishment, arguing that the education system cannot tolerate such abuse. Bukuru had been arrested on 22 November in a hotel room in Cibitoke, reportedly in the company of the student.