Introduction
According to Ligue Iteka, severe human rights violations occurred in Burundi from January to March 2024. Authorities discovered 42 bodies and recorded five extrajudicial killings, including of two opposition National Congress for Freedom (CNL) members. Armed attacks claimed 19 lives, and five people were subjected to torture. Additionally, 41 individuals suffered gender-based violence, nine people were abducted, and 90 people were arbitrarily arrested.
On 11th March 2024, the CNL elected Nestor Girukwishaka as its president for a five-year term, controversially ousting Burundi's CNL party leader Agathon Rwasa while he was on a trip to Tanzania attending a political convention. The Pan-African Opposition Leaders Network accused the Burundian government of colluding with internal CNL rebels to unlawfully seize party leadership from Rwasa.
On 27th March 2024, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Burundi, Fortuné Gaetan Zongo, concluded a 10-day official visit to Rwanda to gather information on Burundian nationals, including refugee camp conditions. He urged the international community to continue to support Burundi in addressing human rights issues and enhancing peace, democracy, security, and the rule of law. Since his appointment, he has sought access to visit Burundi but has been consistently denied access by the government. The Special Rapporteur decided to collect information from the Burundian diaspora and other stakeholders, including in Rwanda. He will present his findings to the Human Rights Council in September 2024 and to the UN General Assembly in October 2024.
Association
On 10th March 2024, police officers and members of the Imbonerakure, the ruling CNDD-FDD party’s youth league, arbitrarily arrested six CNL activists for unknown reasons. Among those arrested were prominent figures such as Agnès Nibirantije, Cyriaque Hasabumutima, and Goreth Nyandwi, who were attending a dissident congress at the Oasis Hotel to elect new party leaders. They were subsequently taken to undisclosed locations.
On 6th April 2024, police officers abducted Djuma Ndayishimiye, an activist affiliated with the CNL, from his residence in Bujumbura. They fired shots, assaulted him, and then took him away. According to witnesses, the officers violently beat him and dragged him out of his home naked. His whereabouts remain unknown.
Expression
On 3rd March 2024, the National Intelligence Service (SNR) arrested Sandra Muhoza, a journalist for the online outlet La Nova Burundi, for allegedly making comments in a WhatsApp group of practitioners discussing the distribution of machetes to Imbonerakure. According to her lawyer and relatives, authorities blindfolded and handcuffed Muhoza during questioning, subjected her to beatings, and provided her with only one meal per day. Officials later charged Muhoza and transferred her to Mpimba prison.