Climate of impunity in Gitega : three people killed in one weekend

SOS Médias Burundi

Gitega, March 3, 2026

Three people were killed on Sunday, March 1, 2026, in the district of Gishubi and Gitega, in the center of the small east African nation, according to local administrative and police sources.

In Gishubi, the lifeless body of a newborn baby was discovered on a mountain in Rukiga village. The information was confirmed by the village chief, Aurélie Banderembako. According to this local authority, the infant had been murdered under circumstances that remain unclear. Alerted, the police went to the scene to conduct the usual investigations and open an inquiry. No suspects had been apprehended at the time of writing.

On the same day, another body was found in Mugutu village, in the district and province of Gitega. It was that of Cyriaque Manirambona, 44 years old, a widower and father of five. His body was lying about twenty meters from his home. The information was confirmed by the deputy chief of Mugutu village, Jean Nyandwi, who stated that neither the perpetrators nor the motives for the crime are known at this stage. An investigation has been opened. The victim was buried the same day.

Also in Gitega, on the night of March 1, 2026, a night watchman named Raphaël Ndaruzaniye, 70 years old, was beaten to death with clubs by unidentified individuals. According to the provincial police, the assailants had previously forced their way into a shop, from which they stole several goods, including 120 kilograms of rice, 150 kilograms of beans, and a scale.

The victim’s body was transferred to the morgue at the Gitega Regional Hospital. Investigations are ongoing to identify and apprehend the perpetrators of these crimes.

Since the beginning of 2026, the province of Gitega has already recorded the discovery of some twenty bodies. Last year, it was among the deadliest provinces in the country, according to a report by the Iteka League, a pioneering human rights organization now forced to operate from exile.