Alert on Violations of Fundamental Rights
How is the country governed? How can a zone chief decide to suspend school activities? Why are citizens being forced to spend weekdays watering avocado plantations? Why do the authorities appear to place so little importance on education?
These are among the many questions being raised by residents of Ntega Zone (formerly Ntega Commune), located in the new Kirundo Commune, Butanyerera Province.
According to several testimonies collected from local residents, people have been subjected for some time to compulsory community work three times a week—every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday—consisting of watering avocado plantations.
Residents state that throughout Kirundo Commune, no one is allowed to carry out their personal or economic activities on those days. Instead, everyone is reportedly required to work on avocado plantations belonging to the CNDD-FDD party, which are presented as a project intended to generate foreign currency for the country. According to the same sources, this measure was decided by Mr. HABIMANA Tite, the CNDD-FDD communal leader in Kirundo.
Residents of Ntega Zone say they were particularly shocked by a recent decision directly affecting the education sector. The announcement of school examination results, originally scheduled for Friday, July 3, 2026, in all schools across the zone, was postponed until the following day.
The decision appears in a message sent on July 2, 2026, by the Chief of Ntega Zone, Mr. KARANGWA Jean Baptiste, to the heads of the schools in the zone. In the message, he instructs them to postpone the announcement of the examination results until Saturday in order to allow for the full mobilization of the population to participate in an avocado plantation watering activity on Mihigo Hill, in the presence of Mr. HABIMANA Tite, the CNDD-FDD communal leader.
The message reads as follows:
“Hello, all school principals who had scheduled the announcement of examination results for tomorrow, Friday, are requested to postpone it until Saturday, because tomorrow the entire commune is mobilized for community work that will take place in Mihigo.”
According to information received, the message was accompanied by an official invitation calling on residents to participate in the activity scheduled for July 3, 2026.
Residents of the new Kirundo Commune, including both parents and students, say they cannot understand how such an important event as the official closing of the school year can be postponed in favor of watering avocado plantations. They argue that such activities could instead be organized on Saturdays without disrupting schools or people’s economic activities.
They also recall that the avocado plantation project has for several years been presented by the CNDD-FDD as a key driver of economic development and a source of foreign currency for Burundi. However, they say that the promised benefits have yet to materialize for the local population.
Residents strongly condemn these practices and call for them to end in their commune. They argue that these compulsory activities seriously disrupt their economic, professional, and family lives. They also denounce the financial penalties imposed on those who fail to attend the community work, which they say amount to 10,000 Burundian francs, despite the severe economic hardship currently facing the population.
King Umurundi Freedom Organization condemns these practices, which it considers to be a violation of citizens’ fundamental rights, particularly their freedom to manage their professional and family responsibilities. The organization believes it is unacceptable for citizens to be forced to suspend their daily activities three days each week in order to participate in activities that undermine their livelihoods, the right to education, and the socio-economic development of their communities.