Kayanza : four suspected coffee smugglers arrested in Mparamirundi, tensions with residents and accusations of deaths during the operation

SOS Médias Burundi

Kayanza, April 29, 2026 – An operation targeting coffee smuggling in Mparamirundi led to the arrest of four people, followed by tensions with residents and accusations of two deaths during the same police intervention. These claims are disputed by the authorities.

Three people suspected of illegal coffee trafficking were arrested early Wednesday morning, around 3:00 a.m., in Mparamirundi, in the Kayanza district, Butanyerera province, northern Burundi.

According to administrative and police sources, the suspects were each transporting bags of dry coffee weighing between 40 and 60 kilograms. “We intercepted them in the act of smuggling,” a local police source stated.

Later that morning, a fourth individual was arrested in the same area. According to witnesses, he allegedly tried to pass himself off as a farmer to evade inspections. “He was also transporting coffee intended for smuggling,” confided an administrative official on condition of anonymity.

Following these arrests, a crowd gathered outside the Mparamirundi jail to demand the detainees’ release. The situation escalated when some residents attempted to force their way into the detention center.

“The people wanted to forcibly remove them. We fired warning shots to disperse the crowd,” stated a security officer. The crowd then dispersed without any confirmed direct confrontation.

Subsequently, accusations circulated in the area and on social media claiming that two of the people arrested during the operation had died, allegedly due to police intervention. These reports were denied by the authorities.

In a statement circulated on social media, the Ministry of the Interior and Public Security denied any deaths in Mparamirundi, asserting that no one had been killed and that the arrested smugglers would be tried immediately, without specifying the number of people involved.

In the afternoon, according to police sources and a relative of one of those arrested, contacted by SOS Médias Burundi, two of the individuals arrested that morning were taken to a Burundi National Police (PNB) station before being shot dead shortly after their detention.

Local police sources claim that the higher-ups gave informal instructions authorizing the use of lethal force against anyone intercepted in smuggling activities into Rwanda. However, this information has not been officially confirmed by the authorities.

The Mparamirundi area, located very close to the Rwandan border, is considered an important corridor for informal cross-border trade, particularly coffee. Price differences between Burundi and Rwanda are often cited as a factor fueling these flows.

In this border region, control operations are regularly reinforced in the context of the fight against fraud and increased monitoring of cross-border movements.

Relations between Burundi and Rwanda remain marked by periods of tension in the Great Lakes region, which contributes to the sensitivity of the dynamics around the border areas. Furthermore, the land and sea border between the two countries has remained closed since January 11, 2024, by the Burundian authorities, who accuse Rwanda of supporting armed groups seeking to destabilize Burundi and of harboring coup plotters involved in the attempted coup of May 2015.