Thousands of subscribers of Burundi’s mobile telecommunications companies have expressed frustration over lengthy delays in the ongoing SIM card information re-registration campaign.
Since the exercise began in mid-June, customers of several telecom operators have reported spending hours in queues without receiving service.
Outside the headquarters of telecom operator Econet Leo in downtown Bujumbura, as well as at its branches across the city, long lines of customers have been visible since last week. The crowds followed a message from the company urging subscribers to ensure their numbers were properly registered before June 21, 2026, warning that unregistered lines could be disconnected.
Many customers complain that the process is consuming valuable time and disrupting their daily activities.
“We abandoned our daily activities to come here, only to spend several hours standing in line. It is really difficult,” lamented one subscriber.
Another customer in central Bujumbura said the long queues have worsened the transportation challenges many residents are already facing.
“These long lines waste a lot of time, on top of the transport difficulties we are currently experiencing,” the subscriber said.
At the company’s branch in Bwiza neighborhood in Burundi’s economic capital Bujumbura, one customer said she returned home without completing the registration process because of the overwhelming crowds.
“I had to go back home because the queues were too long, and tokens had already been distributed to those who would be served that day,” she explained.
Similar Scenes Across the Country
The situation is not limited to the capital. Similar complaints have emerged from other provinces.
In Makamba, the capital of Burunga Province in southern Burundi, subscribers reported spending the night outside registration centers.
“We spent the night here without any shelter,” said one Econet customer. “We fear our lines will be deactivated and that we will lose access to the money stored on our mobile accounts.”
In Burundi’s political capital Gitega, customers of both Econet and Lumitel say the registration exercise has disrupted their businesses. According to local sources, some subscribers have resorted to paying unofficial fees to agents operating under temporary shelters in order to avoid spending long hours in queues.
Customers reportedly pay around 10,000 Burundian francs for Lumitel registrations and 20,000 Burundian francs for Econet registrations through these agents.
Subscribers are calling on both Econet and Lumitel to reorganize the campaign and improve access to registration services.
PARCEM Calls Deadline Insufficient
Civil society organization PARCEM has also criticized the timeframe allocated for the exercise, arguing that it is too short given current transportation difficulties.
“The time allocated for this activity is insufficient, especially since most company offices are located in provincial capitals, making access difficult for many Burundians,” the organization said in a statement posted on social media.
The SIM card verification campaign had initially been extended until June 25, 2026, according to the Agency for Telecommunications Regulation and Control (ARCT).
However, the regulator has now reassured subscribers that no SIM card should be blocked before the campaign concludes.
Samuel Muhizi, Director General of ARCT, acknowledged that the limited number of registration offices compared to the number of subscribers had created significant challenges.
“We have observed problems related to the limited number of offices compared to the number of customers. We recommended that telecom operators increase the number of registration sites, extended the verification period, and instructed operators not to block SIM cards, giving users enough time to complete the registration process,” Muhizi said.
He added that the campaign is expected to continue for several months.
“This is an ongoing campaign. We can imagine that within three months everyone will have had the opportunity to validate their SIM card,” he said.
According to ARCT, the exercise aims to update subscriber information associated with SIM cards registered with telecommunications companies operating in Burundi.
