Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders Annual Report 2006 - Burundi

Threats against CIRID members3

On August 8, 2006, Mr. Déo Hakizimana, founder and director of the Independent Centre for Research and Dialogue Initiatives (Centre indépendant de recherches et d'initiatives pour le dialogue – CIRID), received several anonymous death threats on the CIRID headquarters landline blaming him for "overstepping the limits by standing up for Tutsis". Rumours aimed at discrediting the association also circulated, and CIRID was notably accused of having "joined forces with the putschists".

These threats followed the publication of an OMCT urgent appeal on August 7, 2006. Based on CIRID information, OMCT had then expressed its concerns about allegations of ill-treatment and torture against Mr. Alphonse-Marie Kadege, former Vice-President of the Republic, during his arrest by Burundian secret services in late July 2006. OMCT had also denounced the arrest of Mr. Alain Mugabarabona, leader of the National Liberation Forces-Icanzo (Forces nationales de libération – FNL-Icanzo), and Mr. Déo Niyonzima, secretary general of the Peoples' Reconciliation Party (Parti pour la réconciliation des peuples – PRP). These three political opponents were accused of being involved in a plot to overthrow the government.

The CIRID secretariat continued to receive threatening phone calls until September 2006.

Besides, the complaint filed in February 2005 by Ms. Francoise Niyonzima, personal assistant to Mr. Hakizimana, was not examined during 2006. In February 2005, Ms. Niyonzima was physically assaulted and seriously wounded by a member of the armed forces of the Bujumbura Officers' Training College, while sitting in a café close to her home. She subsequently required significant medical treatment. The complaint she filed shortly after these events was transferred to the Bujumbura Public Prosecutor's office.

Lastly, Mr. Hakizimana's complaint for an arson attack on his home, on April 26, 2005, was not investigated in 2006. On that date, his residence was shot at from several directions while he was inside along with the main members of his organisation. His car was destroyed by a mortar whilst he received several pieces of shrapnel in the right thigh, from which he still suffers to this date. Ms. Françoise Niyonzima and Ms. Edith Ndimurwanko, CIRID accountant, also sustained serious injuries.

Arbitrary arrest and release of Mr. Térence Nahimana4

On May 10, 2006, Mr. Térence Nahimana, president of the NGO Initiatives Society for a Common Vision (Cercles d'initiative pour une vision commune – CIVIC), was arrested by officers of the National Intelligence Service (Service national de renseignement – SNR). On May 5, 2006, Mr. Nahimana had addressed an open letter to the President of the Republic and given a press conference to urge Burundian authorities to rapidly engage in negotiations and reach an agreement with the FNL.

Mr. Nahimana was transferred to the Mpimba central prison in Bujumbura on May 15, 2006 and charged with "threatening State security" (Articles 404 and 428 of the Criminal Code), an offence punishable by up to twenty years in prison.

The Court of Appeal confirmed the legality of Mr. Nahimana's arrest and detention on June 12, 2006.

The Bujumbura Court of First Instance held the preliminary hearing in his case on November 23, 2006 and decided to take the matter under advisement.

The charges against Mr. Nahimana were finally dropped and he was released on December 27, 2006.

Arbitrary arrest and release of Mr. Aloys Kabura5

Mr. Aloys Kabura, a correspondent for the Burundian Press Agency (Agence burundaise de presse – ABP) in the Kayanza Province (northwest of Bujumbura), was arrested on May 31, 2006 on suspicion of "libel" and "rebellion against the State authorities" after criticising the government.

On April 20, 2006, in a bar, Mr. Kabura had indeed publicly condemned the abuses committed by police forces in the country, referring in particular to the behaviour of national intelligence officers who had violently assaulted twenty-eight journalists and two members of the Iteka League, Messrs. Ernest Nkurunziza and Furahisha Nzisabira, during a press conference held on April 17, 20066. Following these denunciations, the executive director of intelligence services lodged a formal complaint with the Prosecutor of Kayanza.

Mr. Kabura was transferred to the Ngozi prison where he was initially detained for "[committing], in public, an act (...), gesture or remark that demonstrates or incites contempt towards established powers [and] agents of public authorities" (Article 273 of the Criminal Code), a charge carrying a two-month imprisonment sentence and/or a fine up to 5,000 Burundian francs (about 4 euros). However, the Criminal Procedure Code stipulates that pre-trial detention shall only apply to those suspected of crimes liable to over a year in prison.

On June 5, 2006, the Public Prosecutor for the Kayanza Province therefore issued a new arrest warrant that was antedated to the day on which the original warrant was established, listing additional offences, in particular "outrage" (Articles 273-1 and 276-1 of the Criminal Code) and "defamatory statements" (Article 178-1) to legitimise Mr. Kabura's pre-trial detention.

On June 16, 2006, the Ngozi Court of Appeal dismissed the petition contesting his detention.

Mr. Kabura, who developed a severe condition with his legs while in detention, to the extent that he was barely able to walk, officially petitioned the director of the Ngozi prison to be granted access to a doctor and proper medical care.

On June 23, 2006, the Ngozi Court of Appeal confirmed the legality of his detention and dismissed his request to be released on bail on medical grounds, arguing that an official medical certificate was mandatory to legitimise such a procedure.

The Court took the matter under advisement on July 28, 2006.

Mr. Kabura was officially indicted and condemned to a five-month prison sentence for "rebellion" and "defamatory statements" by the Ngozi Court on September 18, 2006.

He was released on October 30, 2006 after serving his term.

Harassment against OLUCOME and its members7

In 2006, Burundian authorities regularly targeted members of the Observatory for the Fight Against Corruption and Economic Embezzlement (Observatoire de lutte contre la corruption et les malversations économiques – OLUCOME), an organisation denouncing corrupt practices and irregular allocation of government contracts in the country.

Attack against OLUCOME headquarters

On May 29, 2006, over thirty individuals led by Mr. Salvatore Nkuriragenda, an intermediary for several Burundian businessmen suspected of corruption, attacked the headquarters of OLUCOME. The assailants confined the members present to the office and violently beat Mr. André Misago, the association's accountant.

Mr. Nkuriragenda locked up the premises with two padlocks before convening a press conference during which he called for the cessation of the "disturbing" activities of OLUCOME. The association's members confined in the headquarters managed to call the police who arrested Mr. Nkuriragenda as well as Mr. Dieudonné Nihorimbere, who also participated in the attack. However, both men were released without charge a few hours later.

The same day, OLUCOME filed a complaint in relation to the confinement of its members, and for the assault and battery against Mr. Misago. The organisation also asked the authorities for protection. However, none of these matters were examined.

In the following days, OLUCOME received several threatening letters from the Ministry of Home Affairs, accusing the association of working in place of the State General Inspectorate and of handling its files and information in a "biased" way, and precluding it from publishing the results of its investigations.

Obstacles to freedom of assembly

In early June 2006, OLUCOME members organised a sensitization campaign to increase public awareness of the fight against corruption, in Bujumbura. On this occasion, several members were arrested by a group of individuals led by Mr. Adrien Nihorimbere, a local figure close to the government, and were accused of disseminating false information and defamatory statements. They were all detained for several hours at the special department of the criminal investigation police.

All OLUCOME members were released without charge a few hours later, after the association had proven that it had duly informed the authorities of the campaign, which had been officially approved.

Attempted interference with OLUCOME internal affairs

On June 12, 2006, OLUCOME members received a notarized deed informing them that a general assembly aimed at replacing the legitimate executive board of the association had been convened by a group of persons who were not affiliated with the organisation. The surrogate board, elected during this assembly and registered with a notary, was notably chaired by Mr. Clément Nkurunziza, a member of the ruling party and close to the government. Mr. Adrien Nihorimbere8 was appointed treasurer.

After OLUCOME provided evidence that none of these persons were members of the organisation and that the election of this surrogate board did not comply with the organisation's internal rules of procedure, the notary had to cancel the deed certifying the assembly's minutes on June 14, 2006.

Arbitrary detention and release of Mr. Gabriel Rufyiri

In early August 2006, Mr. Gabriel Rufyiri, OLUCOME president, was threatened by a high-ranking administrative official who claimed that he "would no longer stand" any public criticism by the association and that he would "resort to any possible means and even kill [him] if necessary".

On August 16, 2006, Mr. Rufyiri was arrested in Bujumbura and taken to the Mpimba central prison, on the basis of a complaint for "libel" filed by Mr. Hilaire Ndayizamba, a prominent member of the ruling party and a businessman whom OLUCOME accused of embezzlement in the sale of palm oil to the national police, in June 2006.

On August 23, 2006, the Bujumbura Court held a preliminary hearing to rule on the legality of Mr. Rufyiri's detention and decided to release him on bail. However, Mr. Rufyiri was maintained in detention following an appeal lodged by the Public Prosecutor.

On September 22, 2006, the Court of Appeal pressed additional charges against him, including "defamatory statements", and upheld the legality of his detention on September 25, 2006.

Mr. Rufyiri was released on bail on December 12, 2006, but still faced charges by the end of 2006.

Intimidation and threats against several OLUCOME members

Since Mr. Rufyiri's arrest, OLUCOME members, in particular its executive board, have received repeated phone calls threatening them and their families with death if they did not cease their activities.

On October 3, 2006 for instance, the OLUCOME secretary general was called in for questioning by the Public Prosecutor's office. Following this summons, he and his family received several phone calls threatening him with death and forcing him into hiding.

As a result of these repeated threats, OLUCOME members were reluctant to come to the office for fear of arrest, thus severely hampering the organisation's activities.

Continued threats against members of the Iteka League9

Since July 17, 2006, Messrs. Innocent Nibizi, Joël Ntihinyura and Jérôme Nyawenda, all three members of the Iteka League in the Muyinga Province, have been regularly harassed after they conveyed information to the association's headquarters regarding several bodies that were found in the Ruvubu river, some of which could be identified as civilians arrested and detained in the Mukoni military camp.

On October 12, 2006, Mr. Nibizi was arrested by soldiers of the Mukenke military camp. He was accused of disseminating false information and of being a member of Palipehutu-FNL.

He was released a week later, after an officer of the Muyinga criminal investigation department, also an Iteka member, interceded on his behalf. Mr. Nibizi was nonetheless put on probation and had to report every two days to the Nkoyoyo military station. He was further summoned for questioning on November 11, 2006.

On October 12, 2006, soldiers of the Mukenke military camp surrounded Mr. Ntihinyura's home to arrest him. He managed to escape and went into hiding for a couple of months. Following the intervention of Iteka with the Provincial Governorate, he came back to Muyinga in early December 2006. In spite of the Governorate's guarantee that he would no longer be harassed, the police attempted to arrest him on December 12, 2006. Mr. Ntihinyura escaped and was again forced into hiding.

As of the end of 2006, he was still reportedly wanted by the police following a complaint for "libel" filed by Mr. Belchmans Batakanwa, a member of the ruling CNDD-FDD, and was thus unable to return to Muyinga for fear of arrest.

Lastly, Mr. Nyawenda was directly threatened by the administrator of the Muyinga commune who accused him of disseminating information to Iteka and the United Nations Operation in Burundi (UNOB) after new bodies were discovered in the Ruvubu river on November 23, 2006.

On December 6, 2006, soldiers of the Mukoni military camp came to his home to arrest him following a complaint lodged by another CNDD-FDD member, Mr. Jean Minani, who accused him of conveying erroneous information to Iteka. Mr. Nyawenda managed to hide and escape but remained wanted as of the end of 2006.


[Refworld note: This report as posted on the FIDH website (www.fidh.org) was in pdf format with country chapters run together by region. Footnote numbers have been retained here, so do not necessarily begin at 1.]

3. See Annual Report 2005 and Open Letter to the Burundian authorities, September 4, 2006.

4. See Open Letter to the Burundian authorities, September 4, 2006.

5. Idem.

6. On April 17, 2006, Mr. Mathias Basabose, a member of the National Council for the Defence of Democracy – Forces for the Defence of Democracy (Conseil national pour la défense de la démocratie-Forces pour la défense de la démocratie – CNDD-FDD, ruling party), convened a press conference at his home to explain his quarrel with the party's leader on corruption, embezzlement and influence peddling allegations.

7. See Open Letter to the Burundian authorities, September 4, 2006, and Urgent Appeal BDI 001/1206/OBS 150.

8. See above.

9. See Annual Report 2004.

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