Citizens detained at the Municipal Police Commissariat of Bujumbura, commonly known as the BSR, are sounding the alarm over extremely worrying detention conditions marked by severe overcrowding and treatment that violates human dignity. Without urgent intervention, loss of life is feared.
The BSR has three separate detention areas: one for children, one for women, and one for men. All are currently overcrowded. The majority of detainees have no judicial files and appear to have been arrested arbitrarily, then left forgotten. Some detainees are forced to spend the night standing due to lack of space. Such practices constitute serious violations of fundamental human rights.
The sanitary situation is equally alarming. Detainees have no access to functional toilets: all septic tanks are full, there is no water in the cells, and an unbearable stench fills the premises. Calls for help are multiplying, yet authorities have failed to respond.
🔶 Has the BSR been turned into a center of corruption?
According to several internal sources within the BSR, this situation allegedly stems from the methods of the head of the service, Police Colonel Édouard MUKOKO, accused of ordering mass arrests in order to extort money in exchange for releases. Police officers are reportedly sent daily into neighborhoods to arrest citizens in their homes, while others target children living on the streets. Anyone arrested is taken to the BSR, and release is only possible after paying a bribe.
“The BSR has become a real center for collecting bribes,” denounce human rights defenders.
Despite the extreme overcrowding of the cells and the rapid deterioration of detainees’ health, police trucks continue to bring in new detainees. Images in our possession bear witness to this dramatic situation.
A security officer stationed at the BSR told King Umurundi Freedom:
“The conditions here are inhumane. Detainees are packed together, they do not sleep and spend the night sitting against one another. We fear deaths. All the toilets are full. The commissioner seems to care only about money and constantly orders new arrests. Almost all detainees here have no judicial files.”
In light of this alarming situation, King Umurundi Freedom calls on the Ministry of Justice and other relevant institutions to intervene urgently to save detainees’ lives, uphold the rule of law, and put an end to the practices attributed to Police Colonel Édouard MUKOKO.