A man died in a dungeon of the National Intelligence Service in Cibitoke (northwest Burundi) on the night of October 6 to 7. He was suspected of being part of the fighters of the Red-Tabara rebel group based in the province of South Kivu, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Residents close to this dungeon speak of an atrocious death. The provincial representative of the SNR denies these allegations.

INFO SOS Médias Burundi

The victim, aged around thirty, according to witnesses, was found dead on Monday very early in the morning. His body was lying in a pool of blood.

According to a security source close to Burundian secret services, the detainee had arrived in Cibitoke on the evening of last Friday.

« He had come in a group of prisoners who were transferred from Bujumbura (commercial capital) to Cibitoke », says our source.

According to this source, « the victim suffered several hammer blows before succumbing to his injuries on the night of October 6 to 7 ».

The body was evacuated to a secret location, according to witnesses.

The detainee whose identity remains to be determined, was in the company of two other men, who were arrested in the city of Uvira in the province of South Kivu (eastern Congo), before being taken to Bujumbura, according to another security source. It is Burundian intelligence that arrested the three men, we learned.

« The two other detainees are dying and deprived of food. They are currently between life and death », deplores a police source.

Passersby and residents say that « we often hear cries of distress from people being tortured in the intelligence cell here in Cibitoke ». The SNR-Cibitoke cell is located not far from the provincial governor’s residence. The Cibitoke prosecutor and Governor Carême Bizoza indicate that « no one has contacted us about this ».

The head of the SNR in Cibitoke dismissed all these accusations. During a security meeting on Monday morning, Police Colonel Félix Havyarimana referred journalists to the national intelligence spokesperson for any questions concerning his service.

Red-Tabara is on the Burundian government’s list of terrorist movements. In January 2024, Burundian authorities closed land borders with Rwanda, accusing President Paul Kagame of protecting leaders of this group and arming it in particular. Between December 2023 and February 2024, Red-Tabara rebels were accused by the Burundian government of having killed nearly 30 people in the localities of Gatumba and Gihanga, respectively in the provinces of Bujumbura and Bubanza, bordering Congo. Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye himself accused his Rwandan counterpart of being « a destabilizer of the sub-region and a hypocrite ».

Rwanda has always denied these allegations saying « there is no truth in President Ndayishimiye’s words ».

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The SNR office in Cibitoke in the same intelligence dungeon in the province (SOS Médias Burundi)