Gitega : inmates alarmed by food shortages
SOS Médias Burundi
Gitega, May 11, 2026 – The food shortage at Gitega Central Prison, in Burundi’s political capital, is causing serious concern among inmates. According to internal sources, more than 1,400 prisoners have been facing an alarming food shortage for nearly two weeks.
According to a witness, inmates are currently receiving only about 350 grams of corn or cassava flour per day. This ration is considered insufficient to meet their daily nutritional needs, especially since beans, the main accompaniment to the dough, have also been unavailable for several days.
The same sources indicate that the situation particularly affects inmates from the Karusi, Cankuzo, and Ruyigi regions in the central-east and eastern parts of the country. These prisoners, who often receive few visits from their families, have very little outside support, which exacerbates their vulnerability to the food shortage.
According to information gathered, the situation remains marked by alternating shortages: when flour is available, beans are lacking, and vice versa. A similar shortage was already reported last March in the same prison.
Only about one hundred inmates suffering from chronic illnesses receive food assistance provided by the Catholic Church of Burundi, through the Archdiocese of Gitega. These prisoners receive, in particular, porridge as well as a ration consisting of rice and beans. The other inmates say they are living in extremely difficult conditions and are appealing to anyone of goodwill.
Built in 1926 to house approximately 400 inmates, the Gitega Central Prison now holds more than 1,400 people, representing an overcrowding rate exceeding 400%. This prison congestion exacerbates overcrowding and further deteriorates the conditions of detention.
The situation in Gitega is not, however, an isolated case. Similar difficulties are reported in several other overcrowded prisons across the country, particularly regarding food and detention conditions, according to prison and humanitarian sources.
You might also like
Butembo : ten Wazalendo militiamen killed in violent clashes
A new outbreak of violence has shaken Butembo, where two factions of Wazalendo militiamen (name given to local militias maintained by Congolese authorities) clashed on the night of March 3
North Kivu: the populations victims of looting in the combat zones in the Masisi territory
During the clashes between the M23 rebels and the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo, more than 800 cows were taken from the villages of Kaundu, Buhumba and
Burundi : The Iteka League denounces a probable cover-up of the perpetrators of nearly 1,500 targeted assassinations in three years
In its damning new report, the Iteka Human Rights League is more severe. It speaks of notorious impunity and a cover-up to hide the crimes from President Évariste Ndayishimiye’s rule.