Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Wednesday condemned the ongoing detention of Burundian journalist Sandra Muhoza, whose appeal hearing, initially scheduled for March 4, was postponed due to what authorities described as an “administrative error.” The international press freedom organization has reiterated its demand for her immediate release, denouncing the delay as yet another tactic to suppress independent journalism in Burundi.
Muhoza, a journalist with the online publication La Nova Burundi, has been imprisoned since April 2024. In December, she was sentenced to 21 months in prison by the High Court of Mukaza in Bujumbura on charges of “undermining the integrity of the national territory” and “racial aversion.” The charges stemmed from a message she allegedly shared in a private WhatsApp group of journalists discussing claims of weapons being distributed to youth members of the ruling CNDD-FDD party.
Her appeal hearing was delayed after her name was not included on the list of detainees scheduled to appear in court. “Her trial did not take place today due to an administrative error—the authorities had initially provided an incorrect date,” her lawyer, Prosper Niyoyankana, told local media outlet Iwacu. The appeal has now been rescheduled for March 11, 2025.
RSF has strongly condemned the delay and the broader repression of journalists in Burundi. “Sandra Muhoza should never have been arrested or sentenced. As the country’s crucial legislative elections approach, the authorities must definitively end the repression of journalism,” said RSF’s Sub-Saharan Africa Director, Sadibou Marong in a statement. “We reiterate our call for the journalist’s immediate release so she can be reunited with her family and resume her work.”
In recent days, more than 20 human rights organizations—many of which have operated in exile since the 2015 political crisis—have also denounced the irregularities in Muhoza’s case. In a joint statement, the organizations called on the Burundian government to “immediately and unconditionally release journalist Sandra Muhoza, who has been arbitrarily detained since April 13, 2024.”
The statement further described her imprisonment as a violation of international legal standards ratified by Burundi, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The groups urged the government to end its harassment of journalists, political opponents, and human rights defenders, and called on the judiciary to act impartially, ensuring that Muhoza’s rights are upheld under Burundian law.
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