Burundi-Rwanda : fear, interrogations, and alleged extortion : the ordeal of travelers via Kobero

SOS Médias Burundi

Muyinga, August 26, 2026 — Burundian and Congolese travelers heading to Rwanda report facing increased checks, repeated interrogations, and intimidation at various border crossings. Several testimonies gathered in the border area indicate heightened surveillance of those destined for Rwanda.

Travelers subjected to multiple interrogations

“As soon as they see you’re going to Rwanda, they want to know why you’re going, who you’re going to see, and how long you’re going to stay,” testifies a passenger who regularly uses this route.

Agents of the National Intelligence Service (SNR), supported by Imbonerakure, members of the youth wing of the CNDD-FDD, the ruling party, regularly cross the border to gather information, particularly on travelers heading to Rwanda.

Several travelers say they feel they are being subjected to particularly close scrutiny because of their destination.

“Going to Rwanda has become like sacrilege.”

Money changers operating in the border area say they have observed a difference in the treatment of travelers depending on their destination.

“Those going to Tanzania are not questioned or searched as much as those going to Rwanda. Going to Rwanda has become like sacrilege,” says one of them.

According to several accounts, some travelers even prefer to conceal their true destination to avoid attracting the attention of border officials.

“Some say they are going to Tanzania while they are actually going to Rwanda, simply because they are afraid of being viewed negatively or intimidated by the police and the paperwork,” adds another witness.

Shared taxi drivers particularly targeted

Shared taxi drivers operating between Bujumbura, Burundi’s commercial capital, and Kigali also say they are facing suspicion and threats.

According to several drivers, some are accused of transporting young people who might be joining RED-Tabara, a Burundian armed group based in South Kivu, in eastern Congo, and suspected by Burundian authorities of receiving support from Kigali.

“We are accused of transporting young people who are supposedly going to join RED-Tabara. Because of these suspicions, some drivers have been threatened,” says a driver.

Faced with this situation, some drivers have decided to change vehicles or suspend their operations.

“Some prefer to use other vehicles so as not to be systematically suspected,” explains another driver.

Sums of up to one million francs

Transporters also claim to be forced to pay large sums of money to continue operating.

A driver encountered in Muyinga, in northeastern Burundi, on the road leading to the Tanzanian border, claims that some transporters have paid up to one million Burundian francs to the police station in Muyinga to continue providing service to Rwanda.

According to the same testimony, other sums are also demanded at various levels of the security chain.

“The head of the border police post, as well as the provincial representative of the SNR in Buhumuza, must receive at least 100,000 francs for each vehicle leaving for Rwanda,” he states.

Buhumuza is a province in eastern Burundi, bordering Tanzania and including the Kobero area, an important crossing point into Tanzania for travelers heading to Rwanda.

These accusations, which implicate state agents, could not, however, be independently verified.

The cost of transportation passed on to passengers

Transport operators explain that these additional charges end up being borne directly by travelers.

“A round trip between Bujumbura and Kigali currently costs around 600,000 Burundian francs,” says a transporter. The fare, which previously ranged between 300,000 and 400,000 Burundian francs for a round trip, has thus increased significantly.

According to professionals in the sector, this increase makes transportation particularly expensive and discourages travel.

Some drivers say they have simply given up on this activity, which they now consider too risky.

The disappearance of two men fuels fear

Jean Bosco Nshimirimana and Hermès Rukerandanga, two traders from Butanyerera province in northern Burundi, have been missing since August 12. Jean Bosco, from the Ntega zone in Kirundo district, was returning from Rwanda. Hermès, from Bugabira in the same district, had traveled to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to collect his vehicle.

The two men reportedly met in Kobero, on the border between Burundi and Tanzania, before continuing their journey together to Bujumbura. According to their families, they were then intercepted a few kilometers from the presidential palace, Ntare Rushatsi House, in Bujumbura. The exact circumstances of their disappearance remain unclear.

Jean Bosco’s family also claims that he was in possession of more than $50,000 at the time of his disappearance. This information, as well as the circumstances of their interception, could not be independently verified.

The families report having searched for the two men in several detention centers in Bujumbura, without obtaining any information about their fate. They are calling on the authorities to find them and shed light on their disappearance.

This case is increasing anxiety among people traveling between Burundi and Rwanda.

“People are now afraid to go to Rwanda as well as to return,” testifies a source close to the travelers.

Furthermore, several police checkpoints have been set up or reinforced on the road linking the center of Muyinga to Kobero.

Travelers are calling for freedom of movement

Faced with this situation, residents and travelers are calling on the authorities to guarantee the free movement of people.

“Not everyone goes to Rwanda for political or security reasons. Some go to visit family, conduct business, or seek medical treatment,” emphasizes a traveler.

According to several accounts, the movement of people between Burundi and Rwanda has decreased considerably in recent weeks. Some passengers have even suspended their trips for fear of being suspected, intimidated, or threatened.

Travelers are therefore requesting that security checks, when necessary, be carried out with respect for passengers’ rights and without hindering the movement of people traveling to Rwanda for family, business, or medical reasons.

Since the closure of the land borders between Burundi and Rwanda, decided by the Burundian authorities in January 2024, Kobero, on the border with Tanzania, has become the main land crossing point for Burundians traveling to Rwanda, forcing them to pass through northwestern Tanzania.