Burunga : a body attached to a cross, the murder of a bicycle repairman shocks Kayogoro

SOS Médias Burundi

Burunga, July 14, 2026 – The discovery of the lifeless body of a bicycle repairman, found attached to a cross after being killed in particularly violent circumstances, deeply shocked the inhabitants of Kayogoro, Makamba district, in the province of Burunga, in the south of Burundi. This new drama raises concerns about the rise of homicides recorded in recent months in this part of the country.

According to local sources, Jared Kabura, a bicycle repairer well known to the inhabitants of the region, was found dead in the morning of Tuesday in Mushasha village, in Kayogoro zone. According to the first elements gathered, he would have been stoned to death before his body was found attached to a cross, a scene that deeply upset the residents.

Originally from the Kigaza village, in the Dunga zone, Jared Kabura was described by the village authorities and the inhabitants as a man without a history, appreciated for his work and his good reputation within the community.

An investigation has been opened by the authorities. Two people have already been questioned as part of the investigation. According to the information collected on the spot, one of them suffered from mental problems. However, the inhabitants demand that the investigations be carried out to the end in order to establish the exact circumstances of the murder, to identify all the possible perpetrators and to place the responsibilities.

A rise of crimes that alarmed the population

This new homicide is added to a series of crimes that maintain a climate of growing insecurity in the former district of Kayogoro. In recent months, several people have been murdered before their bodies were found in the Maragarazi river, which marks the border between Burunga province and Tanzania.

Last month, the administrative authorities confirmed the death of three people in this area. Among them was a dead man in the Nyentakara village. In this case, several members of the CNDD-FDD youth league, the Imbonerakure, were arrested. The head of the Nyentakara
village, cited in the case by the judicial authorities, was also questioned along with several other suspects. Justice is called to establish everyone’s responsibilities.

This series of crimes took place only a few days after another death occurred in the district of Nyanza. On Sunday, July 12, a man whose identity has not yet been established was found dying on the side of the Mabanda-Mugina road, in the Bikobe village, in the Gitara zone. Gravely injured and bearing traces of violence, he succumbed before being evacuated to a care facility. An inquiry was also opened in order to shed light on this aggression.

Faced with this multiplication of homicides in the province of Burunga, the inhabitants call on the authorities to strengthen the security devices, to conduct fast, independent and impartial investigations and to bring to justice all the perpetrators of these crimes. For them, only a firm response from the authorities will stop this wave of violence that feeds a deep feeling of fear within the population.