Press freedom organizations and the Iwacu media group on Wednesday renewed calls for the Burundian government to reveal the fate of journalist Jean Bigirimana, marking 10 years since his disappearance with renewed criticism of what they describe as official silence and impunity.
In a statement issued on Wednesday—exactly a decade after Bigirimana went missing—Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said the continued lack of answers has become a symbol of persistent impunity in Burundi and urged the authorities to disclose the status of their investigation.
“Ten years after Jean Bigirimana’s disappearance, the silence of the Burundian authorities has become the symbol of an impunity that can no longer be tolerated,” said Jeanne Lagarde, RSF’s Sub-Saharan Africa Advocacy Manager.
“For a decade, his wife, his loved ones and the entire journalistic community have waited in vain for the truth to be established and do not know whether investigations are still ongoing. If the Burundian authorities truly claim that justice is a priority, they must now prove it by shedding full light on Jean Bigirimana’s fate, publicly communicating on the status of the investigation, and putting an end to the impunity surrounding one of the most emblematic disappearances in the recent history of the Burundian press.”
Iwacu media group also reiterated its demand for answers. Léandre Sikuyavuga, the group’s managing director, said the questions raised by the newsroom immediately after Bigirimana’s disappearance remain unanswered.
“For several days, we did everything we could to find out who arrested Jean. The questions we asked 10 years ago remain exactly the same and continue to haunt us. We ask them again today, and we will keep asking them tomorrow until we receive an answer,” Sikuyavuga said.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) also marked the anniversary, describing the decade-long absence of answers as unacceptable.
“A decade without answers is a decade too long. CPJ will continue to demand the truth about Bigirimana’s disappearance and justice for him and his family,” the organization said in a statement.
Jean Bigirimana, a reporter for Iwacu, disappeared on July 22, 2016, after travelling to Bugarama, in the former Muramvya Province, about 40 kilometers north of Bujumbura, for a reporting assignment. He never returned.
According to his wife, who spoke to the media at the time, Bigirimana was allegedly arrested by agents of Burundi’s National Intelligence Service (SNR), who reportedly forced him into a pickup truck with tinted windows.
Following a complaint filed by Iwacu against unknown persons (X) in August 2016, Burundian authorities announced that prosecutors in Muramvya had opened an investigation. Ten years later, however, no official conclusions have been made public, and Bigirimana’s fate remains unknown.
