The RED-Tabara (Resistance for the Rule of Law in Burundi), rebel group launched two attacks on Burundian soil in December: one an engagement with the Burundian military and the other an attack on a village near the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (where the group is based). In the latter attack, 20 people were reportedly killed, 19 of whom were civilians, including 12 children. These were the first attacks by the group in Burundi since 2021. RED-Tabara opposes the government of Évariste Ndayishimiye, and is alleged to be connected to the opposition party Movement for Solidarity and Development (MSD). The attacks also increased the level of tensions between Burundi and neighbouring Rwanda, after Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye directly accused Rwanda of materially supporting the RED-Tabara group.

Sources: Africa News, Associated Press, Voice of America

On 6 June, Burundi’s Minister of Interior, Martin Niteretse announced that his office had suspended the country’s main opposition party, the National Freedom Council (CNL). In a letter communicating the decision to the CNL, the Minister cited ‘irregularities’ during two recent party congresses, in which several CNL members were ousted from the party over their opposition to its President. In May, Niteretse had challenged the decisions taken during the congresses, on the grounds that they had not been conducted in compliance with the party’s statutes and had demanded that the CNL’s president unite with its ousted members. The CNL, however, alleged the suspension was an unconstitutional interference in its affairs and an attempt to destabilise the party ahead of the 2025 legislative elections. Shortly after the suspension was announced, at least 16 CNL activists were reported to have been arbitrarily arrested and detained on spurious charges of holding an illegal meeting. The ruling party has long used Burundi’s police force to repress opposition party activists, but civil society monitors said the situation had deteriorated since the CNL’s suspension.      

Sources: Voice of America, Africa News, Radio France Internationale, SOS - Torture/Burundi, Human Rights Watch      

A Burundian court has charged 24 people with ‘homosexual practices and incitement to homosexual practices’ under a law that criminalises same-sex sexual activity and prescribes prison sentences of up to two years for those who breach its provisions. According to human rights organisation ACAT-Burundi, all of those charged had been arrested whilst attending a seminar run by an NGO working to combat HIV/AIDS. It also reported that after their arrest, the 24 were interrogated for ten days before being charged and will remain in prison until their trial. Reports from LGBTQIA+ organisations suggest that since the law came into force in 2009, it has been infrequently enforced, with charges rare. Successive Burundian governments have, however, ignored calls from human rights actors to repeal the law, including from the UN Human Rights Committee, which found that it discriminates against LGBTQIA+ people, contrary to the country’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Sources: Radio France Internationale, The East African, Burundi Criminal Code, Africa News, International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, Human Rights Watch, UN Human Rights Committee   

With the support of the country’s parliament, Burundi’s President Evariste Ndayishimiye sacked his Prime Minister, Alain Bunyoni, and cabinet chief, General Gabriel Nizigama, after alleging a coup plot by unnamed individuals. Fifty-four provincial police commissioners were also sacked or redeployed. It was reported that all those who were purged were loyalists of Ndayishimiye’s deceased predecessor, Pierre Nkurunziza, with Bunyoni having served as Nkurunziza’s police chief. Ndayishimiye’s relationship with Bunyoni had grown increasingly acrimonious in recent months, with some commentators attributing this to the fact that the Prime Minister’s business activities have been targeted as part of the President’s anti-corruption campaign. Burundi’s security agencies have a long history of involvement in the country’s politics, which has experienced numerous coups and coup attempts, including a coup attempt in 2015. Commentators have suggested that the purge is unlikely to end tensions between the President and powerful securocrats.

Sources: The East African (1), The East African (2), Al Jazeera, Africa Confidential

The UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation on Burundi reported that the country’s situation had not substantially or sustainably improved since 2018 when, during its Universal Periodic Review, it accepted recommendations to combat impunity and establish a transparent and fair judicial system. He urged Burundi to do more to fight against impunity for abuses committed since 2015, when a failed coup attempt triggered a period of violent repression by the government of the then President Pierre Nkurunziza. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), an NGO, human rights abuses (including killings, torture and arbitrary detention) have continued to be widely perpetrated by state actors since Nkurunziza’s succession by President Evariste Ndayishimiye in 2020. HRW has contrasted these abuses with the “positive portrayal” of Burundi’s human rights situation by the international community, which has pursued a rapprochement policy with Ndayishimiye’s government.     

Sources: UN, Human Rights Watch (1), Human Rights Watch (2)