{"id":146445,"date":"2023-05-04T18:37:05","date_gmt":"2023-05-04T16:37:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/africa-news\/central-africa\/dr-congo\/a-chance-for-justice-in-burundi\/"},"modified":"2023-05-04T18:37:05","modified_gmt":"2023-05-04T16:37:05","slug":"a-chance-for-justice-in-burundi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/africa-news\/central-africa\/dr-congo\/a-chance-for-justice-in-burundi\/","title":{"rendered":"A Chance for Justice in Burundi"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The arrest of\u00a0Burundi<\/a>\u2019s former prime minister, Alain Guillaume Bunyoni, should be followed by a full judicial investigation of abuses by the country\u2019s security forces during his time in power, leading to the prosecution and fair trial of anyone responsible for serious crimes.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Bunyoni rose through the ranks of the ruling National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy (Conseil national pour la d\u00e9fense de la d\u00e9mocratie-Forces de d\u00e9fense de la d\u00e9mocratie, CNDD-FDD) after the civil war. He was minister of public security from 2015 to 2020, including during a\u00a0violent crackdown that began in 2015<\/a>. At the time, Human Rights Watch documented how police\u00a0killed<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0tortured<\/a>\u00a0suspected government opponents. He was\u00a0removed<\/a>\u00a0from his position as prime minister in September 2022.<\/p>\n

On April 23, Burundi\u2019s national prosecutor Sylvestre Nyandwi, after\u00a0days of confusion<\/a>,\u00a0confirmed<\/a>\u00a0Buyoni had been arrested. He is now in the custody of the national intelligence service\u00a0according to the prosecutor\u2019s office<\/a>, and has been charged with undermining the internal security of the State as well as the national economy and abuse of power to illegally receive interest. However, there is no indication that criminal abuses by the police during his period of office are also being investigated. Last week, authorities also\u00a0arrested<\/a>\u00a0Bunyoni\u2019s right-hand man D\u00e9sir\u00e9 Uwamahoro, who has held several senior positions in the police. It is unclear what charges he is facing. Human Rights Watch and Burundian non-governmental organizations have\u00a0documented<\/a>\u00a0cases of killings, torture, and arbitrary detention by Burundian police.<\/p>\n

The opaque circumstances surrounding Bunyoni\u2019s arrest are symptomatic of how political cases are often handled in Burundi. The national human rights commission (Commission nationale ind\u00e9pendante des droits de l’homme, CNIDH)\u00a0tweeted<\/a>\u00a0on April 22 that it had visited him in detention. However, for several days, the authorities failed to confirm his whereabouts, whether he had access to a lawyer, or the conditions of his imprisonment. His wife and four of their children were\u00a0reportedly<\/a>\u00a0held incommunicado at their house for five days from April 17.<\/p>\n

Justice should not be at the mercy of political maneuverings and party in-fighting. Decisions to prosecute should be made on the basis of evidence following a full and independent criminal investigation, and by prosecutors independent of political interference. For the process to be transparent and credible, however, Bunyoni should be given a fair trial \u2013 in the presence of independent monitors \u2013 and be treated according to established legal rules and principles, including access to his lawyer and family.<\/p>\n

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Human Rights Watch (HRW).<\/i><\/p>\n