Fizi : two FDNB officers arrestedafter an M23 strike on Hotel Mwalu, suspected of leaking intelligence

SOS Médias Burundi

Fizi, September 1, 2026—Two officers of the Burundi National Defense Force (FDNB), Captain Félicien Kanjori and Major Jérémie Nitunga, were arrested after a drone strike attributed to the M23 against the Hotel Mwalu in Fizi, South Kivu province, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

According to several sources and testimonies gathered by SOS Médias Burundi, the two soldiers were arrested by mercenaries present in the area, and not by Wazalendo militiamen as initially reported by several accounts. They are suspected of having provided intelligence that allowed the AFC-M23 forces to locate the hotel.

The Congolese and Burundian armies have not yet commented on these arrests, their precise motives, or any charges brought against the two officers.

A strike after a military meeting

On August 19, 2026, the Mwalu Hotel in Fizi was struck by drones. Two people, including the hotel manager, Mwando Lukaba, were seriously injured, and significant material damage was reported.

A spokesperson for the FARDC (Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo) in the region attributed the attack to the M23 and indicated that two bombs had been dropped by drones. This attribution could not, however, be independently verified.

According to information gathered by SOS Médias Burundi, the hotel was hosting several Congolese and Burundian military officials as well as fighters. A meeting dedicated to preparing for a new military operation toward the Minembwe highlands reportedly took place at the hotel.

Among the military officials cited is Major General Elie Ndizigiye, alias Muzinga, deputy commander of the Burundian National Defense Forces (FDNB), responsible for coordinating Burundian military operations.

Brigadier General Télesphore Barandereka, head of the FDNB General Staff’s training and instruction service, commonly known as G3, is also cited.

Brigadier General Fabien Dunia Kashindi, commander of the FARDC’s 33rd Military Region, which covers South Kivu and Maniema, was also among the officials associated with this meeting.

According to information gathered by SOS Médias Burundi, these high-ranking officials had left the premises before the attack.

Two officers under investigation

Following the attack, several Congolese and Burundian officers were investigated to determine how the AFC-M23 forces could have obtained information about the presence of military officials at the hotel.

Captain Félicien Kanjori and Major Jérémie Nitunga were arrested in this context.

They are suspected of having provided information that could have led to the location of the Mwalu Hotel or the identification of the people inside.

At this stage, no public and independent evidence has been found to establish that the two officers actually provided such information.

According to several sources, they were subsequently transferred to Kinshasa and handed over to DEMIAP, the Congolese military intelligence service. This information has not, however, been officially confirmed.

The Congolese and Burundian armies have not yet commented on the fate of the two soldiers.

Mercenaries, not Wazalendo fighters

The circumstances of their arrest also remain unclear.

Several testimonies gathered in the initial hours reported that they were arrested by Wazalendo fighters. Information subsequently gathered by SOS Médias Burundi indicates, however, that Captain Kanjori and Major Nitunga were arrested by mercenaries present in the area.

Their identity, nationality, chain of command, and the precise circumstances of their intervention remain to be established.

This mercenary presence occurs in an environment where regular forces, local armed groups, and foreign fighters coexist, with chains of command that are sometimes difficult to ascertain.

Communications cut off in Fizi

The investigation also takes place in a context marked by significant communication difficulties in the region.

Mobile phone networks have reportedly been down in Fizi since June 19, 2026. Military officials and some armed groups are said to have resorted to alternative means of communication, including satellite equipment.

This information remains difficult to verify independently.

However, they fuel questions about how information relating to the movements of military officials and the meeting at the Mwalu hotel could have reached the AFC-M23 forces.

More than 29,000 Burundian soldiers deployed in the DRC

The presence of the two officers is part of Burundi’s military engagement in eastern DRC.

According to an internal report from the Congolese Ministry of the Interior and Security, consulted by SOS Médias Burundi in December 2025, more than 29,000 Burundian soldiers were deployed in eastern DRC between August 2022 and December 2025.

The Burundian soldiers fought alongside the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) and Wazalendo groups supported by Kinshasa.

South Kivu, particularly the Fizi territory and the Minembwe highlands, is one of the main areas of this military presence.

The Wazalendo at the heart of tensions

The arrest of the two officers comes at a time when the Wazalendo play a significant role in the security apparatus established by Kinshasa in eastern DRC.

These local armed groups are fighting alongside the FARDC against the M23 and its allies.

In an interview with SOS Médias Burundi in September 2025, Onesphore Sematumba, senior analyst for the International Crisis Group in the Great Lakes region, criticized the use of militias to maintain security in certain areas.

“We are in a lawless situation where militias impose terror and demand the ethnic cleansing of their towns. In other words, the state, or what remained of it, no longer exists because there is no force that can oppose the will of the all-powerful Wazalendo,” he stated.

He also warned against delegating state authority to armed groups.

“It’s a very bad idea to continue outsourcing one’s authority and security. Outsourcing the security of one’s population has never been the solution. It creates other problems, often more serious ones,” he added.

These statements, however, do not establish a link between the Wazalendo and the arrest of the two Burundian officers, who, according to current information, were arrested by mercenaries.

The FDLR, another actor in the regional conflict

The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) is a Rwandan Hutu armed group, some of whose members are accused of participating in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda.

The group has been active for several years in eastern DRC and is one of the main security grievances raised by Kigali, which accuses Kinshasa of supporting or tolerating it. Congolese authorities reject these accusations and, in turn, accuse Rwanda of supporting the M23.

The AFC-M23 and Corneille Nangaa’s political project

The M23 is part of the Congo River Alliance (AFC), a political-military coalition led by Corneille Nangaa, former president of the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a position he held from 2015 to 2021.

The AFC, which includes the M23 as well as political parties and armed groups, seeks to overthrow the Kinshasa government. The coalition advocates, in particular, for the establishment of a federal state in the DRC, an institutional reform it presents as one of the solutions to the political and security crises plaguing the country.

In South Kivu, the AFC-M23 is notably allied with Twirwaneho, an armed group primarily composed of Banyamulenge.

Faced with this coalition, Kinshasa relies on the FARDC (Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo), the FDNB (National Defense Forces of Burundi), and the Wazalendo groups.

Cross-referential accusations between Kigali, Kinshasa, and Gitega

The presence of various armed groups is part of a regional conflict marked by mutual accusations.

Kigali accuses Kinshasa and Gitega, in particular, of collaborating with the FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda) and other armed groups hostile to Rwanda. Congolese authorities reject these accusations and, in turn, accuse Rwanda of providing military support to the M23.

Burundi, engaged alongside Congolese government forces, also accuses Rwanda of supporting armed groups hostile to Burundi. Kigali rejects these accusations.

In this context, the Fizi and Minembwe areas have become a major strategic front, particularly due to their proximity to the Burundian border and the military importance of the South Kivu highlands.

Questions still unanswered

The arrest of Captain Félicien Kanjori and Major Jérémie Nitunga comes amid an extremely tense military environment, where several regular forces and armed groups are either clashing or cooperating.

Their arrest alone does not allow for the conclusion that they were involved in a possible intelligence leak.

The Congolese and Burundian authorities will need to clarify the circumstances of their arrest, the charges against them, and the evidence on which the suspicions of information transmission are based.

In the absence of official communication, several questions remain unanswered : Who provided the information that led to the location of the Mwalu Hotel? To whom was this information allegedly communicated? Under what circumstances were the two officers arrested by mercenaries? Were they actually transferred to Kinshasa? And where are they currently?

These are questions that the Congolese and Burundian authorities are now being called upon to answer.