Léonidas Ndemeye, a teacher accused in the past of illegal possession of weapons, was arrested again on Thursday by the National Intelligence Service (SNR) of the province of Bururi (southern Burundi). This arrest comes only three days after his release thanks to a presidential clemency measure, according to local judicial sources. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

Last Monday, Léonidas Ndemeye had been released by the commission responsible for implementing the presidential pardon measure initiated by President Évariste Ndayishimiye. However, the attorney general at the Bururi Court of Appeal now accuses him of escape, an offense that several judicial sources consider unfounded.

According to information gathered, this accusation of escape would be a pretext designed by the public prosecutor’s office to allow the arrest of recent beneficiaries of the presidential pardon.

A teacher with a favorable judicial record

Before his release, Léonidas Ndemeye had won his cases before the First Instance Court, the Bururi Court of Appeal and even the Supreme Court, first chamber. His release under the presidential pardon seemed to mark the end of his legal troubles. However, this new arrest has sparked indignation, particularly among judicial observers.

Multiple arrests on similar grounds

Léonidas Ndemeye is not the only one to face this situation. Pélagie Nindamutsa, another beneficiary of the presidential pardon, was arrested on December 15 by the Bururi public prosecutor’s office, on similar charges of escape. Although she was officially released on December 14 by the commission in charge of implementing this clemency measure, she is once again held in Bururi central prison.

Calls for a review of the situation

Judicial sources are calling for rapid intervention by the commission in charge of the presidential pardon. They are urging it to visit Bururi central prison to guarantee the rights of the recently released persons, unjustly accused of escape.

These repeated arrests highlight practices denounced as abusive, or even contrary to the spirit of the presidential pardon desired by the Head of State.