Burundi : RSF denounces “arbitrary” conviction of journalist Sandra Muhoza

SOS Médias Burundi

Bujumbura, January 15, 2026 – The international organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) strongly condemned the four-year prison sentence handed down to Burundian journalist Sandra Muhoza, deeming it an “arbitrary” decision that reveals the continued repression against the independent press in Burundi.

In a statement published on January 14, 2026, RSF criticized the sentence handed down by the First Instance Court of Ngozi, in northern Burundi, which it considers “extremely harsh,” asserting that the journalist is being prosecuted for a simple message shared in a private WhatsApp group for journalists, without publication or intent to harm.

A procedure deemed opaque and disproportionate

RSF emphasizes that the legal proceedings were marred by irregularities, including changes of jurisdiction and successive reclassification of the charges. The organization believes that the charges brought against her —including “undermining national territorial integrity” and “racial hatred”—are clearly disproportionate to the alleged offenses.

The NGO notes that Sandra Muhoza was initially sentenced to 21 months in prison in 2024, a decision overturned due to lack of territorial jurisdiction, before she was retried and given a harsher sentence.

RSF appeals to African human rights mechanisms

The organization states that it has appealed to the Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression and access to information in Africa of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), to raise awareness of what it describes as the instrumentalization of the justice system to deter journalists.

RSF also emphasizes that Sandra Muhoza is currently the only female journalist detained in sub-Saharan Africa, a situation it describes as an “extremely worrying sign” for press freedom on the continent.

Call for her release and reminder of a presidential statement

RSF calls for the immediate and unconditional release of the journalist and the dropping of all criminal charges related to her journalistic expression or activity.

This reaction comes after Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye invited Sandra Muhoza and Kenny Claude Nduwimana, another journalist detained in Bujumbura Central Prison, commonly known as Mpimba, to write to him requesting a presidential pardon. The Head of State stated at the time : “I was completely unaware of the Sandra Muhoza case.”

At this stage, no official reaction from the Burundian judicial authorities has been recorded following RSF’s statement.