Burundi President Fires Three Officials for Treason Over Unlawful Release of Criminals

Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye on Thursday dismissed three senior presidential officials, accusing them of treason for unlawfully releasing convicted criminals excluded from a presidential pardon. The president stated that their actions tarnished the image of his office by falsely suggesting the releases were authorized by the highest authority.

According to the presidential decree, the dismissed officials facilitated the release of individuals convicted of serious crimes, including rape and murder, whose offenses were explicitly excluded from the clemency order. The officials affected by the decision are Jean Baptiste Baribonekeza, Head of the Legal Affairs and Governance Office; Cyrille Sibomana, Head of the Legal Oversight and Legislation Department; and Arcade Harerimana, Technical Advisor on State Litigation Monitoring.

The dismissals follow President Ndayishimiye’s campaign to alleviate prison overcrowding, launched in November 2024 at Muramvya Prison. The clemency program aimed to release 5,442 inmates across the country but has faced allegations of irregularities and mismanagement from local human rights organizations, including ALUCHOTO and Ntabariza SPF.

Jean-Marie Nshimirimana, the legal representative of Ntabariza SPF—a local group defending prisoners’ rights—criticized delays in implementing the clemency order, saying, “If the president grants clemency, the order must be executed. We are concerned about the troubling delays in freeing the pardoned individuals.” Local news outlet Iwacu quoted Nshimirimana as saying.

Vianney Ndayisaba, national coordinator for ALUCHOTO, has pointed to significant discrepancies in the execution of the clemency program. For instance, at Mpimba Central Prison, only 653 of the 2,800 eligible inmates had been released, while Ngozi Prison freed just 287 of the 400 eligible prisoners. He also accused officials of manipulating prisoner files to justify continued detention. “Some files are marked in ways that result in certain individuals remaining in custody,” Ndayisaba alleged, urging the government to address the issue.

Both ALUCHOTO and Ntabariza SPF have called for swift action against those undermining the president’s orders. ‘The president’s decision is supreme. Those who defy it should be removed from their positions,’ said Ndayisaba.