Bubanza : a woman in her seventies brutally murdered in a crop field, her 19-year-old grandson arrested

SOS Médias Burundi

Bubanza, July 2, 2026 – Sylvane Ndayarinze, a woman in her seventies, was brutally murdered in a field in Mwanda village, in the Muramba zone of ​​Bubanza district, Bujumbura province, western Burundi. Her body was discovered around 1 p.m. on June 28, bearing severe head injuries and a deep gash on her neck. Her 19-year-old grandson has been arrested. Authorities are investigating the possibility of a family land dispute.

According to local sources, Sylvane Ndayarinze had gone to Mwanda village to harvest palm oil. Having recently settled in the Ciya sub-village, she had returned to her ancestral lands accompanied by her 19-year-old grandson, Clovis Habimana, a member of the youth wing of the ruling party, the Imbonerakure.

Initial findings indicate that the victim was first struck with a club before having her throat slit with a machete. Her body was found lying in the crop field where she had been harvesting.

Police and administrative authorities quickly apprehended Clovis Habimana, considered the prime suspect in the case. He is currently held in the Bubanza district police station, where he is being questioned as part of the investigation.

According to local officials, this murder may be linked to a land dispute between members of this family. The investigation is ongoing to establish the exact circumstances of the tragedy and determine responsibility.

Bujumbura province, in the west of the small East African nation, is among the regions most affected by killings and the discovery of bodies. In recent months, several cases of murders and abandoned corpses have been reported there, fueling concerns among the population and human rights organizations.

On June 29, Fortuné Gaëtan Zongo, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Burundi, denounced the continued extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture, arbitrary arrests, and impunity that continue to characterize the human rights situation in the country. A few days earlier, the Catholic bishops of Burundi had also expressed their deep concern about the increasing number of killings, disappearances, and violations of fundamental rights, calling on the authorities to take measures to guarantee the safety of all citizens. These statements had angered President Évariste Ndayishimiye, who called them unfounded criticisms.