Jean Bigirimana

Portrait/ “Jean, a courageous journalist and a great worker”

A week on with no news of our colleague Jean Bigirimana. Relatives, friends and former colleagues speak of a good family, active and hardworking man.

Jean Bigirimana discussing with a colleague.

Jean Bigirimana discussing with a colleague.

” He consults me on each and every issue. He is my husband and my friend at the same time”, the wife of Jean Bigirimana said in tears.

She said her husband is an outgoing man. He is not afraid to tell the truth. This was confirmed by his neighbors.
“He does not like confrontations with people. However, he is outspoken. If he has something to say, he does it bluntly and politely”, said a neighbor of the journalist. Socially, he said: “Jean is a peaceful and helpful man, always willing to help others.”

“He supports me when I come down to Bujumbura to write my dissertation”, commented a former high school friend.
The professional career of this father of two children revolves around journalism. He began this profession as a journalist-editor at Rema Radio and Television in 2011. He became a secretary of programs at the same medium in 2012. After the failed coup of July 2015 followed by the destruction of private radio stations, he became a correspondent of Great Lakes Info Agency. Last June, he joined Iwacu Press Group.

A dynamic young man

Those who knew him at Rema describe him as a hard worker. “I have known him since 2011 when he came to do an internship at Rema radio. His was industrious. He worked more than most of us”, was the statement of a former colleague at Rema. According to him, once given a task, he could not sleep before having it completed. “His is an active and courageous man. He had always the desire to discover something new”, said another colleague.

According to a member of the African Alliance of Green Communicators Association (AGC), of which the journalist is a founding member, “Jean Bigirimana is a leader. He is dynamic and he brings several initiatives.”

Jean Bigirimana was born in 1979 in Gisagara, commune of Cankuzo province. He attended Rurengera and Musenyi primary schools.

He afterwards attended Rusengo High School, then the Gisagara communal college before completing his high school studies at Muyaga Lycée. He joined the University of Burundi in 2006 where he graduated in law.

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