Burundi : a young motorcycle taxi rider detained in Rumonge amid arrests in Matana

SOS Médias Burundi

Rumonge, October 16, 2026 — Elvis Niyondavyi, a young motorcycle taxi rider, has been detained since October 12 in the cells of the Rumonge district police station, a port city in Burunga province, southwestern Burundi. His arrest comes amid a wave of arrests reported since September 27 in the Matana district, in the same province, amid suspicions of armed fighters infiltrating the region.

According to family sources, Elvis Niyondavyi left his family home, located in Kivumu village in the Kizuka zone, on Saturday, October 10, due to rumors of a possible arrest. He then reportedly went to Rumonge, where he had been working as a motorcycle taxi rider since the previous weekend.

He was finally arrested on Monday, October 12, in downtown Rumonge. Police sources indicate that officers already had his motorcycle’s license plate number and his photograph. At the time SOS Médias Burundi was gathering information, no case had yet been opened against him. The same sources suggest the possibility of his transfer to the Mugamba police station in the Matana district for questioning by a judicial police officer.

Since September 27, several people, including young people and retired military personnel, have been arrested in the Matana district, according to testimonies gathered locally. The exact number of people arrested, those still detained, and those reportedly released could not be determined.

These successive arrests are causing concern among residents. Witnesses and relatives of those arrested denounce what they consider to be the targeting of individuals not affiliated with the ruling party, the CNDD-FDD. Some fear, in particular, that the operations are targeting members of the Tutsi minority. These accusations could not be independently verified by SOS Médias Burundi.

During a quarterly security meeting held on October 8, the administrator of Rumonge, Augustin Minani, mentioned reports of armed men in Rutumo who had reportedly entered the region through Magara. He called on the population to cooperate with the authorities and support security efforts, notably by increasing night patrols.

For his part, the local police commissioner accused the Burundian rebel movement RED-Tabara, based in South Kivu province in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), of exploiting the population’s hardships, particularly fuel shortages, to create the impression that the state is failing.

However, no available information establishes a link between those arrested in Matana and RED-Tabara, nor confirms their involvement in any armed infiltration.

Contacted by SOS Médias Burundi, the spokesperson for the Burundi National Police (PNB) stated that the government could not “stand idly by,” without specifying the number of people arrested in these operations.

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A welcome sign at the entrance to the district of Rumonge, in the province of Burunga, southwest Burundi, where the young motorcycle taxi rider Elvis Niyondavyi has been detained since October 12 (SOS Médias Burundi)