10-12-2016 ■ On 12 October, the National Assembly has voted for a bill on Burundi withdrawal from the International Criminal Court. Despite points of contention during the plenary session, 94 MPs voted for, 2 against and 14 abstentions. The Minister of Justice, Aimée Laurentine Kanyana, who defended the draft law in (...)

10-12-2016 ■ Five out of eight UPRONA MPs elected from Amizero y’Abarundi coalition have been replaced as they have never sat in the National Assembly since they were elected in 2015. According to Tatien Sibomana, the spokesman of UPRONA, the wing which is not officially recognized by Burundi government, they keep (...)

10-12-2016 ■ On his third visit in Burundi in two years, Ambassador Georg Schmidt, Regional Director for Sub-Saharan Africa and Sahel of the Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs indicated that Germany is concerned with the country’s current situation. “The UN Human Rights reports are not encouraging. Several refugees are still living (...)

10-12-2016 ■ The incident happened on 10 October night around 8 pm, in Bugarama municipality of Rumonge province in the south of Burundi. Sources on the ground say that a group of gunmen threw grenades and fired point blank at people who were drinking in a bar belonging to the Head (...)

10-11-2016 ■ Burundi has just declared a suspension of any form of cooperation and collaboration with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights-OHCHR until further notice. The declaration cites the “untruthful and controversial” United Nations Independent Investigation Report on Burundi-UNIIB accusing the government of grave violations of (...)

10-11-2016 ■ The makeshift bridge connecting Muha and Mukaza municipalities which was destroyed following the torrential rains that fell in Bujumbura on Saturday night is now operational. This bridge was built to temporarily replace the former one under construction for four months since it got destroyed and thus blocking the usual (...)

10-11-2016 ■ Since Carama site displaced persons were forcibly moved by the administration from “Ku mase” place near lake Tanganyika in Bujumbura city in February 2014, Burundi government is currently urging them to return to their native villages. 239 families of about 1000 people are sheltered in precarious huts and tents (...)

10-10-2016 ■ No death penalty in Burundi since 2009. But extrajudicial killings are common. Additionally, there are signs that the penalty might be reintroduced. As the world celebrates the World Day against Death Penalty, the abolition of the penalty in Burundi is threatened by the prevalence of extrajudicial killings and hints (...)

10-10-2016 ■ Burundi government accuses EU of having dictated the recent UN report to destabilize the country. The UN Council for Human Rights adopted on 30 September in Geneva, Switzerland, a resolution on Burundi by setting up an independent commission of inquiry which will determine the perpetrators of violations of human (...)

10-07-2016 ■ “I am very relieved to hear we will get clean water. We’ve been longing for it for a long time. We live in a seriously health-threatening situation here”, said the overjoyed Quentin Marc Ngendakumana, the local head of Kagwema area. He was speaking at an event inaugurating the construction (...)