Kajaga : fishermen fear a possible introduction of Ebola from the DRC

SOS Médias Burundi

Bujumbura, June 25, 2026 – In Kajaga, a town on the shores of Lake Tanganyika near the lake border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), on the northern outskirts of Bujumbura, Burundi’s commercial capital, fishermen are living in fear of a possible introduction of the Ebola virus disease. Daily interactions with their Congolese counterparts and the lack of visible preventive measures are fueling concerns in this area of ​​high cross-border traffic.

Testimonies gathered on site indicate almost daily boat traffic from the DRC in the waters near the lake border, where interactions between fishermen from the two countries are frequent. For many residents, this constant proximity creates a vulnerability to cross-border health risks.

“We share practically the same fishing grounds as our Congolese colleagues. When an Ebola alert is reported on the other side of the lake, concern naturally spreads among the riverside communities. We fear that a case could cross the border undetected,” confides a fisherman encountered at the Kajaga site.

Beyond the health risks, the fishermen denounce the difficulties in accessing drinking water, which is essential for complying with the hygiene measures recommended to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.

According to them, several standpipes that used to supply the site were destroyed or washed away by the floods caused by the rising waters of Lake Tanganyika in 2023.

“We are asked to respect hygiene rules, but access to drinking water remains very limited since the standpipes disappeared.” “This makes implementing these measures particularly difficult,” laments another fisherman.

Faced with this situation, several members of the community say they have appealed to health authorities to strengthen prevention measures and epidemiological surveillance in this border area.

Although Burundian authorities claim to have put in place preventative measures against the potential introduction of the Ebola virus, reporters from SOS Médias Burundi observed that many citizens struggle to identify these measures on the ground. In several border towns, residents say they have not seen regular health checks or sufficiently visible prevention mechanisms.

For their part, health authorities maintain they are continuing their efforts. During a public broadcast with journalists in Gitega, the country’s political capital, the Minister of Public Health, Dr. Fidèle Nkezabahizi, indicated that the government is continuing awareness campaigns to promote adherence to hygiene measures. He also specified that teams of health workers had been deployed to various provinces and districts of the country, with particular attention paid to border crossings with the DRC.

For several observers, transboundary fishing sites are among the areas requiring increased vigilance due to constant population movements. They believe that access to drinking water, the availability of handwashing facilities, strengthened health surveillance, and the implementation of early warning mechanisms remain essential to limit the risk of the spread of infectious diseases.

In this part of the small East African nation, fishermen hope that the announced measures will quickly translate into concrete and visible actions on the ground, in order to reassure riverside communities while preserving an economic activity upon which many families depend.