Cibitoke : overcrowded, sick, and abandoned inmates

SOS Médias Burundi

Cibitoke, January 30, 2026 – The detaining cells at the Cibitoke police station in Bujumbura province, western Burundi, are facing alarming overcrowding. A total of 179 detainees, including 18 minors, have been crammed into the cells for over a month, sharing them with adults in conditions deemed inhumane.

Untenable detention conditions

According to police sources, monitoring the detainees has become virtually impossible due to their excessive numbers. Lacking space, some are forced to sit on top of each other, while others spend the night standing or near the cell windows.

This situation is exacerbated by the continuous transfer of suspects from neighboring districts, without any lasting solution for their care. The detainees are initially sent to Bujumbura Central Prison, located in the commercial capital, known as Mpimba. However, due to a lack of vehicles and fuel, the transfer is often delayed, contributing to overcrowding in the prison.

Detainees deprived of justice and healthcare

Several detainees denounce prolonged detentions without trial. One of them claims to have been imprisoned for three months for a debt of 150,000 Burundi francs, despite having pledged to repay it at the local level. Now seriously ill, he has no access to medical care.

Others report never seeing a magistrate. According to them, only those with connections or financial resources manage to be brought before the courts, while the others are forgotten. The detainees demand that trials be organized quickly and that those already convicted be transferred to Mpimba to alleviate overcrowding in the prison.

Accusations of corruption and illegal practices

Some detainees are denouncing illegal payments upon arrival at the detention center. A new detainee is required to pay a so-called “candle” fee, which can reach 100,000 Burundi francs, of which 20,000 francs allegedly go to the police officers in charge of surveillance. Officially intended for feeding the detainees, this sum is in reality believed to benefit those in charge of the detention center.

Visitors are also reportedly forced to pay 2,000 francs per hour, with additional charges for exceeding this limit—a practice considered excessively humiliating.

Sick prisoners without care and calls for change

The detainees denounce the frequent refusal to transfer them to hospitals, despite their right to medical care. They are demanding regular rotation of the police officers assigned to the detention center, arguing that long postings foster abuse and corruption.

Authorities’ response

The prosecutor in Cibitoke acknowledges that overcrowding is sometimes due to transfers from the districts and cites the lack of vehicles and fuel to transport convicted prisoners to Mpimba.

Regarding the corruption allegations, he formally denies them, stating that he has not received any official complaints, and calls for formal investigations to be opened in the event of any allegations.

The majority of the prisoners are being prosecuted for armed robbery, breach of trust, rape, murder, as well as for the fraudulent transport of goods in the DRC and the illegal crossing of Congolese nationals via the Rusizi River.