A Burundian citizen was brutally killed by members of the Imbonerakure after being falsely accused of stealing a goat. The victim, named MAKUCA, was a 65-year-old man living in Ruhuma, on Muyaga hill, in Cankuzo commune. The events took place on April 28, 2025, around 6:00 p.m. That day, Imbonerakure members falsely accused him of stealing a goat in the neighborhood. Without any proof, they forcibly took him to a location known as “Kwirigara,” where they began beating him savagely, with no possibility for anyone to intervene. He died on the spot from the blows he received. After killing him, the Imbonerakure abandoned his body and fled. Shocked residents alerted local authorities, who contacted the communal administrator. A vehicle was sent to transport the body to the morgue of the Cankuzo Provincial Hospital, where it remains to this day. The perpetrators are known: NIYIMBONA Janvier, chief of the Imbonerakure in Cankuzo zone and headmaster of ECOFO Nyakivumu, and NIYONKURU Jacques, an Imbonerakure from the same Muyaga neighborhood and teacher at Lycée Monseigneur Joachim Ruhuna.
A Shocking Level of Impunity
What outrages local residents is that these two individuals continue to walk freely, with no arrests made to date, even though they should already be in detention. Even worse, no one is allowed to approach the home of the deceased or speak to his widow. Their house is being monitored by Imbonerakure members to prevent any visits or attempts to gather testimony. This atmosphere of intimidation has spread fear throughout the neighborhood.
A New Wave of Imbonerakure-Imposed Terror?
Residents fear that these acts of violence may be linked to a new order given by Shabani NIMUBONA, provincial chief of the Imbonerakure in the newly created province of Buhumuza, calling for harsher repression. On April 26, 2025, during a public show-of-force ceremony held by the Imbonerakure in the town of Cankuzo, Shabani NIMUBONA reportedly made alarming statements to members of the militia. According to witnesses, he declared: “Anyone caught stealing, or even suspected of stealing in our province, you must eliminate them on the spot. Correct them, kill them. No mercy.” These remarks were reported by an internal Imbonerakure source from Cankuzo.
A Community Living in Fear
Since these statements, residents have been living in fear, especially after the brutal killing of the elderly MAKUCA, beaten to death with sticks by Imbonerakure members over a mere suspicion of goat theft. The local population is demanding immediate judicial intervention so the perpetrators are prosecuted and punished according to the law. They also call for urgent protection for the widow of the victim, who remains confined in her home, unable to receive visitors and constantly monitored by the Imbonerakure.