As part of our ongoing investigation into the scandals threatening to sink OTRACO, we return today to the way in which the Technical Director, Jacques Niyibizi, is diverting revenue from transport operations—so much so that most of the company’s earnings reportedly no longer benefit OTRACO, but rather his personal network.
A strategic agency handed to a family member
OTRACO operates an agency responsible for the Bujumbura–Kigoma (Tanzania) route, located at Sioni Market in Bujumbura. Strangely, this agency is not managed by the company itself but by a private individual: Claudine Niyomuhhoza, described as a relative of Jacques Niyibizi.
The contract between OTRACO and this agency is allegedly renewed every six months, without any transparency. No OTRACO employee monitors the agency’s revenue, creating a wide-open door for large-scale embezzlement.
A network of agencies under private control
The same pattern is repeated across several other cities: Rumonge, Karonda, Nyanza, Mabanda, Musenyi, Mugina… In each of these branches, Jacques Niyibizi has placed people close to him, often without any official status. Most of the revenue collected in these agencies never reaches OTRACO’s accounting system.
Losses estimated at 50 million FBu per month
Buses on the Bujumbura–Kigoma line, which have a capacity of 100 passengers, are often reported as carrying only 60 or 70. The difference is pocketed illegally. In addition, fees collected for luggage are never reported. According to our sources, this represents a shortfall of nearly 50 million Burundian francs per month for OTRACO.
Employees are demanding that this agency be removed from the control of Jacques Niyibizi’s inner circle and entrusted either to an official OTRACO staff member or to a private operator under a clear, supervised contract.
A new dubious project toward Uganda
At the same time, Jacques Niyibizi is reportedly preparing to open a new OTRACO route between Bujumbura and Kampala (Uganda). Once again, he is said to be seeking to hand over management to a private group close to him, to the detriment of the company’s finances.
Employees are raising the alarm and calling for urgent intervention from the relevant authorities to stop these diversions, which risk pushing OTRACO into total collapse.