FENADEB, a leading child rights organization in Burundi has expressed deep concern over an increasing number of children being trafficked into neighboring Tanzania, where they are reportedly exploited and, in some cases, mistreated.
“It’s truly sad,” said FerdinandNtamahungiro, national coordinator of FENADEB. “Most of these children drop out of school and are taken to Tanzania to carry out tasks that are inappropriate for their age. We’ve even received reports that some of them are subjected to torture there.”
FENADEB urges cooperation among various institutions to put an end to the practice. “To confront this issue, we need action from all sides—civil society groups working on children’s rights, local authorities, security services, and the justice system,” Ntamahungiro said.
Border Authorities Tracking the Trend
Local officials in Burungaprovince, which borders Tanzania, also confirm the growing presence of child trafficking networks. Judicial authorities in the former Rutana province report that about 50minors are believed to cross into Tanzania illegally each month.
According to ClovisSimbarakiye, the public prosecutor in Rutana, most of these children originate from the provinces of Gitega, Butanyerera, and Burunga in southern Burundi.
Earlier this week, 33individuals—including five minors—from Karusi province were apprehended in Kinzaza, Rutana commune, while attempting to reach Tanzania, local media reported.
Officials Point to Organized Trafficking Network
Parfait Mboninyibuka, governor of Burunga province, suspects that a well-structured trafficking network is recruiting and moving children across the border.
“These children are surely being recruited by an invisible, yet active network,” Mboninyibuka said at a press briefing held on Monday. “A child from Karusi or Gitega managing to find their way to Tanzania suggests they are being guided.”
He noted that the province’s security forces are working on a strategy to identify and dismantle this network. “We are exploring ways for police, intelligence services, and defense forces to work together and uncover those responsible,” he said.
Mboninyibuka described the group behind the trafficking as a “mafia-like” structure with enough financial influence to pressure families and obstruct legal processes.
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