In response to news reports that Burundian journalist Floriane Irangabiye is suffering respiratory distress and her health has deteriorated behind bars, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement:

“Imprisoned Burundian journalist Floriane Irangabiye’s worsening health is alarming, and authorities have demonstrated negligence in their failure to ensure that she receives adequate medical care,” said CPJ’s sub-Saharan Africa representative, Muthoki Mumo. “Authorities are responsible for her well-being and should ensure that she receives appropriate treatment. Even more importantly, Irangabiye does not belong behind bars and should be released unconditionally.”

On the night of Monday, July 24, Irangabiye suffered severe breathing difficulties and chest pains, symptoms that persisted as of late Tuesday and made it difficult for her to speak, according to news reports and a person familiar with her case who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of retaliation.

Irangabiye, who has been detained since August 2022, has suffered from asthma since childhood, but her condition has worsened over the last three months, that person said, adding that, despite seeing a doctor at least four times during that period and being prescribed the use of inhalers, Irangabiye remains ill.

The person familiar with her case said Irangabiye is exposed to smoke from a nearby prison kitchen and that the humid weather had possibly contributed to her health issues. Two months ago, Irangabiye’s family formally requested that authorities transfer her from the northern Muyinga Prison to a prison in the capital city of Bujumbura due to those health concerns.

Irangabiye is serving a 10-year prison term following her January 2023 conviction of undermining the integrity of Burundi’s national integrity, charges that stem from her work with the online news outlet Radio Igicaniro.

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Seven years after a news website reporter disappeared in Burundi on 22 July 2016, his family and colleagues continue to demand truth and justice. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the country’s current administration to end its silence about this case, in which officials in the previous administration could have been involved.

On 22 July 2016, Jean Bigirimana was looking forward to being reunited with his wife and children at the end of that day’s work but he never saw them again. Seven years later, the circumstances of his disappearance and the identity of those responsible are still unknown. For his loved-ones and colleagues, the search for justice has been long but their determination has not flagged. Despite a change of government in 2020, the authorities have so far shown no interest in shedding light on the case.

RSF reiterates its support for the demand by family and colleagues for justice for Jean Bigirimana, a journalist who disappeared in unclear circumstances seven years ago. A real, independent investigation, as RSF has sought in a petition since 2016, is needed in order to finally establish who was responsible. President Évariste Ndayishimiye’s administration should address this need instead of continuing to say nothing about the case. The media landscape must regain its pluralism, diversity and freedom, and the quest for truth and justice in the disappearance of a reporter for Iwacu, one of Burundi’s most widely read independent media outlets, is a condition of this.

Sadibou Marong, Director of RSF’s sub-Saharan Africa bureau

Aged 37 and based in the capital, Bujumbura, Bigirimana was working for Iwacu, the country’s most widely read independent news website. On 22 July 2016, he went to Muramvya, a small town 50 km east of Bujumbura, to meet a source. That is where he was seen for the last time.

His widow, Godeberthe Hakizimana, reports that, according to several witnesses, “he was bundled into a pickup with tinted windows by national intelligence agents.” Two corpses in a very deteriorated condition were recovered from a nearby river a few days later. The police denied that either was Bigirimana’s. But Hakizimana recalls her “very strong emotion” when they finally asked her to come to the morgue to examine them to see whether she could identify either as her husband’s. She was unable because of their condition.

A complaint against persons unknown was filed by Iwacu and the family along with a request for DNA tests on the two unidentifiable bodies. The authorities never acceded to this request. Pierre Nkurunziza, who died in office in 2020, was president at the time – an era marked by countless press freedom violations carried out with complete impunity.

After her husband’s disappearance, Hakizimana began being subjected to anonymous threats and intimidatory messages. In June 2017, she fled with her two children, now aged 15 and 10, to neighbouring Rwanda, where she remains. From there, she reiterates her request for justice and to be able to carry out a “dignified burial” for her husband.

Arlette Munezero, the spokesperson for Burundi’s prosecutor general, said in 2021 that Bigirimana’s disappearance was still an open case and that investigations were under way. The interior and public security ministry’s spokesman meanwhile accused Iwacu of “not wanting to cooperate in the investigation.” This is denied by Iwacu founder and editor Antoine Kaburahe, who points that the complaint filed by Iwacu was dismissed.

“No one has ever been questioned or arrested, neither perpetrators nor instigators,” Kaburahe said. “They took his life, but they will never get our silence. We will be there to perpetuate the Jean Bigirimana’s memory. His name will endure through time. His children will be proud to bear the name of an honest journalist, a father, who was killed for no reason.”

Kaburahe was himself also forced to flee abroad because the authorities subjected Iwacu to constant harassment. Four of its journalists were arrested on a reporting trip to the northwest of the country in 2019 and were sentenced to 30 months in prison.

Access to the Iwacu website from within Burundi was blocked for five years from 2017. Iwacu was able to circumvent the censorship thanks to the creation of several mirror sites by RSF as part of its Operation Collateral Freedom. Burundi’s new government finally lifted the blocking in 2022.

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Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the “harsh and arbitrary” ten-year prison sentence that the host of a Rwanda-based web radio critical of the Burundian government received last week on a spurious charge of “endangering the integrity of the national territory” at the end of a grossly unfair trial before a Burundian court.

Radio Igicaniro host Floriane Irangabiye was convicted on 3 January under article 611 of Burundi’s criminal code, a “vaguely-worded article usually used to convict mercenaries,” her lawyers said. As well as being sentenced to ten years in prison, she was fined 1 million Burundian francs (about 450 euros).

Trumped-up charges

The grounds for this charge were never clarified and were clearly baseless. Her lawyers, who intend to appeal within 30 days, insist that there is no evidence that her broadcasts from neighbouring Rwanda, which often included criticism of the Burundian authorities, posed any threat to Burundi’s internal security.

The prosecution also accused her of being “unable to produce a press card while claiming to be a journalist.” Since 1 December, a press card has been a requirement for all journalists working in Burundi. But Irangabiye did not work in Burundi and was visiting family when she was arrested in Bujumbura, the Burundian capital. Furthermore, her radio station is not recognised by Burundi’s National Council of Communication, the only body that issues the press card.

“This harsh sentence is extremely disturbing and shows that the authorities targeted Floriane Irangabiye because of her work as a journalist. This deplorable attack on press freedom sends a message designed to silence all critical journalists. The authorities have been unable to produce any hard evidence to support the spurious charges. This court’s decision must be overturned and this journalist must be released immediately” Sadibou Marong, Director of RSF’s sub-Saharan Africa bureau

Held for months without charge

Irangabiye had been living in Rwanda since 2015, where she hosted shows on Igicaniro, a web radio created by Fraternité, an association of Burundians living in self-exile, mainly in Rwanda. She regularly invited well known Burundian figures – often government critics – onto her shows to discuss the country’s problems.

While visiting her family in Burundi, she was arrested on 30 August 2022 by the National Intelligence Service, which takes its orders directly from the president. She was initially held without charge for a month in Bujumbura’s Mpimba prison. But then, without any prior warning and without any grounds, she was transferred one night at the start of October from Bujumbura, which is in the west of the country, to Muyinga prison in the far northeast. She was finally charged after being held for two months and was produced in court on 16 December.

She continues to be held in a remote prison where most of the detainees are from the region and she is far from her family and loved ones. This is a deliberate form of punishment, her lawyers told RSF. They also said her visitors are systematically subjected to body searches in order to deter them from visiting her.

Practicing journalism has been fraught in Burundi ever since a political crisis in 2015, when many journalists either fled the country or were put on trial and were given long jail sentences, devastating the country’s media landscape. Iwacu, Burundi’s most popular news website, began being blocked in 2017 but it was able to continue operating thanks to the various mirror sites created by RSF to circumvent the censorship. The authorities finally stopped blocking Iwacu last month.

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The Committee to Protect Journalists on Friday called for the immediate and unconditional release of Burundian journalist Floriane Irangabiye, who has been detained for over two months without being formally charged.

Irangabiye is a commentator and debate program host on Radio Igicaniro, a Rwanda-based outlet that publishes critical commentary and debate on Burundian politics and culture, according to Radio Igicaniro editor Arsène Bitabuzi, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app, a report on Facebook by exiled Burundian station Radio Publique Africaine (RPA), and CPJ’s review of Radio Igicaniro’s content published on YouTube, SoundCloud, Facebook, and distributed via WhatsApp.

In mid-August, Irangabiye traveled from Rwanda, where she has lived since 2009, to visit family in Burundi, according to a person familiar with her case who spoke to CPJ on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. On August 30, intelligence personnel in the capital Bujumbura stopped a vehicle in which Irangabiye was traveling and took her into custody, the person and Bitabuzi said. Irangabiye remains detained but has not been formally charged with any crime, the person, Bitabuzi, media reports, and Radio Igicaniro said.

“After two months, the authorities’ failure to credibly charge Floriane Irangabiye with any crime is evidence that this case is in retaliation for her commentary and critical opinions,” said Muthoki Mumo, CPJ’s sub-Saharan Africa representative. “Floriane Irangabiye should be released immediately and allowed to continue her life and work without further interference. Burundi’s government should also hold accountable officials responsible for her arbitrary detention and ill-treatment behind bars.”

Irangabiye was initially detained at the intelligence headquarters in Bujumbura, where she was denied access to family and legal counsel, and was interrogated about her work with Radio Igicaniro, which officers said supported opposition groups, the person familiar with her case said. Officials also accused Irangabiye of working with armed opposition groups and espionage, according to a VOA report and human rights organization ACAT-Burundi. The person familiar with her case said at least one intelligence officer sexually assaulted Irangabiye while she was detained at the intelligence headquarters, by groping her buttocks and breasts.

In a statement sent via messaging app in response to CPJ’s questions about the sexual assault and whether the government would investigate, Burundi’s prosecutor general Sylvestre Nyandwi called the sexual abuse allegation “unfounded” and an “extension of (Irangabiye’s) harmful acts towards the State of Burundi to tarnish its image.”

On September 8, Irangabiye appeared in court in Bujumbura, where officials accused her of attacking the integrity of the state, but did not file formal charges, RPA and the person familiar with her case said. Irangabiye was then transferred to Mpimba prison in central Burundi. In late September, she was transferred to Muyinga prison in northern Burundi, where she is allowed family visitation, Radio Igicaniro and the person said.

During an October 28 court appearance in Muyinga, Irangabiye was again accused of anti-state crimes against Burundi but also was accused of operating without a journalist’s accreditation, according to the person familiar with her case and Radio Igicaniro. Prosecutors requested more time to gather evidence, and did not formally charge her, the person said.

Prosecutor general Nyandwi said that Irangabiye’s ongoing pre-trial detention was in accordance with Burundi’s criminal procedure code, had been sanctioned by a judge, and that authorities were waiting for a court to settle the matter following the pre-trial stage of the case.

Radio Igicaniro’s programming is stridently critical of Burundi’s government, according to CPJ’s review of its content. In some Radio Igicaniro programming that CPJ reviewed, Irangabiye participated as a debate moderator, host, or commentator, and criticized poor governance and human rights violations by Burundi’s government and called for reform in the country.

Pierre Nkurikiye, spokesperson of Burundi’s interior and public security ministry, did not answer calls from CPJ or queries sent via text message and messaging app.

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The African Freedom of Expression Exchange (AFEX) welcomes the decision of the Burundi media regulator, the National Council of Communication (CNC), to lift the ban on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) services in the country and calls on the government to also lift also the sanction on Voice of America (VOA).

After almost three years of suspension of the BBC in Burundi, the CNC announced on March 30, 2022, that it has reached an agreement with the media outlet to lift the ban.

“We have decided to allow BBC Radio to reopen from today. The CNC had suspended BBC Radio for professional misconduct, and then on the recommendation of the President of the Republic Évariste Ndayishimiye; the CNC should sit down with the sanctioned media outlet to settle the problems once and for all,” said CNC president Vestine Mbundagu.

Both BBC and VOA were suspended from broadcasting in the country on May 2019, following some critical publications on alleged incidents of human rights abuses under the late President Pierre Nkurunziza. The authorities accused the two international media houses of spreading falsehoods.

While the inauguration of the incumbent President was greeted with a glimmer of hope for press freedom, not much has changed in the media landscape, as the country is still ranked as not free by Freedom House. Several journalists have imposed self-censorship on critical issues, out of fear for their life, and retaliation.

On August 19 and 31, 2021, President Evariste Ndayishimiye, in a public address, verbally attacked Esdras Ndikumana, a journalist and correspondent of the French public international radio station, RFI, over critical media reportage on COVID-19. He also verbally attacked another journalist, Antoine Kaburahe, founder of the privately-owned media, Iwacu.

Burundi has a notorious record of crackdowns on press freedom, with several journalists exiled following the foiled coup d’état attempt of 2015.

The authorities have yet to come up with any report of thorough investigation into the disappearance of journalist Jean Bigirmana in July 2016.

While AFEX welcomes the lifting of the ban imposed on BBC, we are, however, of the view that Burundian authorities must demonstrate more commitment by upholding and respecting press freedom and freedom of expression.

Members of AFEX:

ADISI-Cameroon
Africa Freedom of Information Centre
Association for Media Development in South Sudan
Center for Media Studies and Peace Building
Collaboration on International ICT Policy in Eastern and Southern Africa (CIPESA)
Freedom of Expression Institute
Gambia Press Union (GPU)
Human Rights Network for Journalists – Uganda
Institute for Media and Society
International Press Centre
Journaliste en danger
Media Foundation for West Africa
Media Institute of Southern Africa
Media Rights Agenda
West African Journalists Association

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Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye to combat a month-old surge in Covid-19 cases in the country instead of verbally attacking a Burundian journalist who has been covering it.

The president has publicly attacked Esdras Ndikumana, a reporter for French public radio broadcaster Radio France Internationale (RFI), twice in the past two weeks, most recently at a meeting with young entrepreneurs in the east of the country on 31 August, when he accused Ndikumana of inflating the number of cases and using RFI to “promote poverty in the country.”

In a speech broadcast on 19 August by national radio and TV broadcaster RTNB and by Rema, a station that supports the ruling party, the president claimed that Ndikumana, who has lived in self-imposed exile for the past six years, “dreams of seeing Burundi sink into the abyss, seeing Burundians die and seeing Covid-19 assail us.”

President Ndayishimiye also referred to Antoine Kaburahe, the founder and editor of the online weekly Iwacu, as one of “the two journalists destroying our country” but he claimed that Kaburahe had “thought better of it” after “receiving our message.” Kaburahe also lives in self-imposed exile while Iwacu has repeatedly been harassed by the Burundian government since the political crisis in 2015.

One of Iwacu’s most experienced reporters, Jean Bigirimana, disappeared in July 2016 after he was last seen with Burundian intelligence officials. Four Iwacu journalists were arrested while reporting in the northwest of the country in October 2019 and were held for more than a year, until freed by a presidential pardon.

“We condemn these grave and dangerous statements, which are a sad reminder of press freedom’s fragility in Burundi,” said Arnaud Froger, the head of RSF’s Africa desk. “Trying to make journalists act as government mouthpieces is not the best way to help their development. Instead, they should be allowed to do their job of informing the public and encouraging the authorities to take the best possible decisions. The work journalists do is absolutely essential during this pandemic. We urge the president to target the right enemy, to combat the pandemic instead of attacking journalists.”

The number of Covid-19 cases reported in Burundi in the past four weeks is a 208% increase on the previous four weeks. This is the biggest surge in the infection rate ever seen in Burundi.

Press freedom continues to be very fragile in Burundi despite the president’s promises to “normalise” relations with the media. Burundi is ranked 147th out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2021 World Press Freedom Index.

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By Muthoki Mumo/CPJ Sub-Saharan Africa Representative 

Five years ago, Abbas Mbazumutima led a team of journalists from the independent Burundian news outlet Iwacu in investigating a story no reporter should ever have to write – about the July 22, 2016 disappearance of their colleague, reporter Jean Bigirimana, who went missing shortly after receiving a call from an intelligence source.

The Iwacu journalists traced their colleague’s steps to Bugarama, a town in the central Muramvya province, where sources said that Bigirimana was last seen in the company of people thought to be intelligence personnel, Mbazumutima, Iwacu’s chief editor, told CPJ via email. In a remote river they found two decomposing bodies, one of which they feared was Bigirimana, he said. But authorities buried those bodies before they could be conclusively identified, leaving basic questions unanswered, Iwacu reported at the time.

Today, half a decade later, Bigirimana’s disappearance remains unsolved. Mbazumutima told CPJ he believes the journalist is dead while Bigirimana’s family continues to ask for DNA identification of the bodies, according to Iwacu.

Bigirimana worked at Iwacu for just a few weeks before he went missing, said Mbazumutima, who believes that an incident involving the journalist’s previous employer, Rema FM, may have been a factor in his disappearance. Rema FM is a ruling party-affiliated radio station that was temporary closed following a 2015 attack amid civil unrest that erupted when Burundi’s president sought a third term, precipitating an attempted coup, as CPJ documented at the time.

Mbazumutima told CPJ that Bigirimana had confided in him that he feared for his safety after individuals the journalist believed to be affiliated with the ruling party’s youth wing, the Imbonerakure, had accused him of conspiring to attack Rema FM.

According to Mbazumutima, the journalist’s accusers said that Bigirimana was implicated in the attack because he was related to a former official, Léonidas Hatungimana, who was later sentenced to life in prison in absentia for his alleged role in the coup attempt, according to the BBC and a court document reviewed by CPJ. Reached by CPJ via messaging app, Hatungimana, who is in exile, said he was unjustly convicted.

Hatungimana confirmed that he is the journalist’s uncle and that he knew that Bigirimana felt unsafe though did not have details of possible threats against his nephew. According to Mbazumutima, Bigirimana’s fear was so great that for a period of time before he worked at Iwacu, he fled into rural Bujurumba on a self-imposed “internal exile,” as the editor put it.

In an interview last month to mark the five-year anniversary of Bigirimana’s disappearance, Mbazumutima spoke to CPJ about why the incident involving Rema FM cannot be ignored, the journalist’s legacy, and the ongoing struggles for press freedom in Burundi. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

CPJ sought response from Burundian officials regarding this interview; the requests are detailed below.

Do you think there are any links between the accusations that Bigirimana took part in the attack on his previous employer and his disappearance?

I think we cannot ignore those threats and also the fact that he was now working for Iwacu, which is not afraid to be critical. We must consider all these together, whether they contributed to his disappearance.

What was it like continuing to work in the Iwacu newsroom those days after he disappeared?

It was a shock. I was afraid. There was dead silence in the editorial office. There was this panic that paralyzes you. The sky had just fallen on us. When a female voice, I think, called us from Bugarama, where Jean had gone to meet one of his sources, to tell us that our friend had just been carted off in a pick-up truck with tinted windows, we thought it was over and that Jean was dead. Some journalists were even afraid to continue working, “so as not to suffer the same fate.” Did we recover from this disappearance? No, it is engraved on our hearts. It reminds us that our work is dangerous, that every report, every investigation is an achievement, and that we have to face certain fears to do a good job.

Read the full feature on CPJ’s site.

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A year into his presidency, Evariste Ndayishimiye has posted a mixed scorecard for media freedom in Burundi. Having experienced harsh restrictions under Ndayishimiye’s predecessor, the late Pierre Nkurunziza, there was optimism among media practitioners and activists that once sworn in, Ndayishimiye would usher in progressive reforms in the country.

Since taking office on June 18, 2020, Ndayishimiye has actively engaged the media, leading to the lifting of some sanctions. Notable actions have seen the pardon of jailed journalists, lifting of bans against online publishers such as Iwacu, Isanganiro and Ikirihoo as well as broadcasters including the BBC and Radio Sans Frontières Bonesha (RSF Bonesha). However, these have only been partial reliefs as many independent media houses remain banned, while the culture of self-censorship and civil society oppression prevails.

A History of Repression

In May 2015, Nkurunziza’s bid for a new term in office triggered contestation, with opposition parties and civil society organisations protesting against what they considered an unconstitutional third term in office. The ensuing public demonstrations led to a deadly political crisis, with widespread reports of police brutality, physical destruction of radio and television stations, and the arrest of several journalists. The events were preceded by a government order to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block access to social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, and Viber.

Nkurunziza eventually had his way and won the 2015 elections, after which he set upon systematically shrinking civic space. The period until his death in June 2020 saw an escalation in the crackdown on independent media and journalists, both offline and online, forcing many to flee to exile.

In July 2016, Jean Bigirimana, an independent online journalist, went missing and his whereabouts remain unknown. Witness testimonies allege that Bigirimana was abducted by officials of Burundi’s national intelligence services. Although authorities have denied any involvement in Bigirimana’s abduction, further reports indicate that his family received death threats, forcing his wife and children to flee into exile.

As of October 2017, access to the websites of independent local news publishers http://www.iwacu-burundi.org, http://www.isanganiro.org, and http://www.ikiriho.org was blocked from within Burundi except through use of circumvention methods. Isanganiro’s radio station and Iwacu’s weekly print newspaper remained operational and in circulation, respectively. The management of Iwacu contacted the National Communication Council (CNC) as well as the telecommunication regulatory authority regarding the website blockage, but the authorities denied responsibility, arguing that it could be a technical issue at the Internet Service Provider level. In order to keep its services accessible, Iwacu set up an alternative website (https://iwacu.global.ssl.fastly.net/). Meanwhile, a letter from Ikiriho to the CNC requesting for its website to be unblocked went unanswered.

In May 2018, the CNC issued warnings to Radio Isanganiro, Radio CCIB FM+, and Radio France Internationale, and suspended the licenses of the BBC and Voice of America (VOA) for six months on allegations of not verifying sources and broadcasting unbalanced news. Months later in October 2018, the government suspended the operations of international non-governmental organisations, accusing them of violating the 2017 General Framework for Cooperation between the Republic of Burundi and Foreign NGOs, which requires recruitment of national staff by ethnic quotas.

On the legislative front, on May 11, 2018, Nkurunziza assented to a new interception of the communications law, with sweeping powers granted to government agencies carrying out investigations to intercept electronic communications and seize computer data. The law was passed within two weeks of first being tabled – in contravention of the constitution.

Meanwhile, a YouTube block in Burundi was documented by the Open Observatory of Network Interference during December 2019 without official explanation. Leading up to the alleged restriction on YouTube, the Burundian government suspended the comments section on the YouTube channel of Nawe, an independent media outlet, and prohibited new channel uploads. Initially, Nawe’s website and Twitter remained active but both have been inactive since August 2020. Moreover, Nawe is no longer listed among CNC’s licensed online media houses.

The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic presented even bigger challenges. In May 2020, Burundi expelled officials of the World Health Organisation for challenging the country’s Covid-19 response, amidst a looming election. Whereas the country reported some Covid-19 statistics, there was criticism of under-reporting and gagging of civil society and health workers.

A New Dawn

Under the new head of state Ndayishimiye, who won the 2020 polls by 67%, the repression has eased somewhat. Four Iwacu journalists were released from prison in December 2020 by way of a presidential pardon after serving 14 months of a two-and-a-half year jail sentence for “complicity in undermining state safety.” The charges related to coverage of clashes between the Burundian army and militia from neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. Prior to their release, various organisations, including the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), had petitioned Ndayishimiye, arguing that the four journalists’ conviction was unjust.

In another positive development, Ndayishimiye held a dialogue with Burundi journalists in January 2021, during which he said that the media are a strong pillar for democracy and development and urged the country’s media regulatory body CNC to urgently engage with media houses that were banned or sanctioned to explore possible reopening.

Following the president’s directive, the CNC invited Léandre Sikuyavuga, Editor-in-Chief of Iwacu, for a meeting on February 11, 2021. Sikuyavuga was informed that the CNC was in talks with the relevant technical service providers to reinstate access to the Iwacu website in Burundi. The ban on the discussion forum of the website, which was imposed back in April 2018, was also revoked. However, at the time of writing, Iwacu remains inaccessible within Burundi.

Also in February, the President of the CNC held a press conference during which he announced the end of all restrictions against RSF Bonesha FM. The broadcaster was one of the independent radio stations destroyed in 2015 and its operating license was indefinitely revoked in 2017. Within four days of the press conference, the station resumed broadcasting. While expressing his joy at the lifting of the sanctions, Leon Masengo, the Director of Bonesha FM, said a lot of their equipment was destroyed in 2015, but the station would start airing in the capital Bujumbura initially and later countrywide once the necessary equipment was replaced. The estimated cost of replacing the damaged equipment was USD 60,000.

More recently, on June 16, 2021, the CNC lifted the ban on Ikiriho and the BBC. In order to resume operations, the BBC is required to apply for a new license. For its part, Ikiriho immediately resumed operations including posts via its Twitter account which had been dormant since October 2018. However, its website remains inaccessible.

Nonetheless, many other broadcasters including VOA, Radio Publique Africaine (RPA), and Radio Télévision Renaissance remain off air. In order to overcome the national ban, RPA and Radio Télévision Renaissance, whose journalists live in exile, maintain active Youtube channels (Radio Publique Africaine Ijwi ry’Abanyagihugu and Tele Renaissance), whose daily news editions are widely circulated among Burundians via Whatsapp.

Further, more than 70 journalists who fled the country during the 2015 crisis for fear of their lives are still living in exile as reported by the Le Monde. Meanwhile, self-censorship and civil society repression persists.

The Next Four Years

In order to rejuvenate the media landscape and civic space to its dynamism prior to 2015, Ndayishimiye must show commitment to uphold media and internet freedom by unconditionally lifting bans on all media houses, including granting amnesty to all journalists currently living in exile. The practice reforms should be matched with policy reforms including amendments to laws that grant undue powers to authorities to conduct unwarranted surveillance and censorship. Ndayishimye should also desist from interrupting access to the internet and social media.

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At the onset of the Coronavirus disease (Covid-19), the prognosis for how Africa would manage the pandemic was bleak. Many (mostly western-based) epidemiologists anticipated that the pandemic would kill millions of Africans. Researchers at the Imperial College London put the number of estimated deaths at three million as the worst case scenario if nothing was done.

As the pandemic ravaged the western world, however, many of these scientists and analysts were mystified by the comparably fewer deaths in Africa. While many credited Africa’s young population, less travel infrastructure, and a stroke of luck for this success, John Nkengasong, Director of the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention, attributed this early success to African countries taking radical preventative steps very early on.

Having dealt with epidemics such as Ebola in recent years, many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa were more prepared and had more supportive infrastructure in place than was apparent to outsiders. The harsh lockdowns, instituted at a terribly high cost to livelihoods of already poor populations, may have inoculated most of the continent from the kind of catastrophe that befell Italy, the United States of America (USA), the United Kingdom, Brazil and other countries.

This, however, is not to say that all African countries took the same scientifically sound responses to the pandemic. Some governments took a dismissive approach to the disease. Some outrightly denied its existence. In all instances, there have been significant social-economic and political costs.

A Deadly Infodemic

From presidents to religious, and opinion leaders, through to citizens, a small, but influential group of Covid-19 skeptics harmed an otherwise somewhat successful response to the pandemic on the continent.

Increased spread of false and misleading information about the virus via social media platforms has exacerbated the problem, often across demographics – the educated and uneducated, young and old, rural and urban. African ‘WhatsApp aunties’ have been the most susceptible to, and purveyors of, Covid-19 misinformation, a phenomenon that compelled the World Health Organization (WHO) Africa Office to directly appeal to them to join the fight against misinformation.

However, when a government, under the tutelage of a powerful president, leads the misinformation campaign, the dynamics become different in scope, and the impact to public health and safety can be more catastrophic. Some governments have weaponised Covid-19 information and data to narrow the democratic space and muzzle political opponents.

For example, the governments of Tanzania and Burundi, led by their outspoken and populist presidents, outrightly denied the existence of the virus, stopped sharing data with WHO, and even harassed WHO officials based in those countries who were tracking the virus. Both presidents have since died – officially from heart-related complications but suspicions abound that they succumbed to the coronavirus disease. Both countries continue to reel from multiple deaths, attributed to ‘acute Pneumonia’, which independent experts say is a euphemism for Covid-19.

A case study of Burundi and Tanzania: One learned its lesson and changed tack, the other stayed the course with devastatingly different outcomes for both of them

Tanzania

When neighbouring countries such as Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda were frantically scrambling to shut down borders, schools, economies, and enforce mandatory curfew and quarantines, the Tanzanian government did not institute a lockdown and emphatically told its people that their daily routine would remain unchanged. Markets, churches, sports events, bars, and restaurants remained open even after the country confirmed its first case of Covid-19 on March 16, 2020. Two months later in May 2020, authorities stopped updating the WHO with Covid-19 statistics, which at the time stood at 509 cases and 21 deaths.

President John Pombe Magufuli incredulously claimed that the virus was not real, and that he had ordered tests for goats and pawpaws which had all returned positive results. In any case, he said, if the virus was real, God would protect the country. The government made no plans to order for vaccines which Magufuli termed a western plot to exterminate his people. Instead, Magufuli encouraged steaming, using natural remedies, and most importantly he encouraged prayer.

In the meantime, there were an increased number of deaths attributed to pneumonia in Tanzania, with the dead buried under the cover of night, and relatives cowered into silence. With an official policy of not reporting Covid-19 cases, the full scale of the virus’s toll in Tanzania is impossible to determine.

In February 2021, the Catholic Church of Tanzania broke its silence, reporting that up to 25 of its priests and 60 nuns had died of Covid-19, and when the Vice President of semi-autonomous Zanzibar died, the government there admitted Covid-19 was the cause of death and urged citizens to take precautions. Several high-profile individuals, including cabinet ministers, died but the government remained in denial. In one infamous incident, the country’s Finance Minister was taken from Intensive Care and paraded before the media to dispel rumours that he was dead. In coughing fits and clearly weak, surrounded by mask-less officials, he struggled to make a statement.

When President Magufuli disappeared from public view for weeks in mid-February, the country was rife with speculation that he had contracted the virus. The government dismissed the reports as untrue and claimed that the president was “busy working hard” for the country. Opposition leaders claimed that Magufuli had been flown to Kenya on life support due to Covid-19. This was again dismissed by the government. On March 17, 2021, the government announced that the president had died from heart disease.

Burundi

In May 2020, Burundi expelled WHO officials for questioning the wisdom of holding a presidential election amidst the pandemic. At the time, the country had not instituted a lockdown or any other preventative measures. A general election went on with massive rallies. By June 24, 2020 the country had reported 144 cases and one death, amid criticism that the true scale of the pandemic was not being reported. Civil society and health workers were purportedly gagged from talking about the virus.

The shocking death of outgoing president Pierre Nkurunziza in June 2020, however, seems to have caused a change of heart in the new leadership. Officially, Nkurunziza succumbed to a heart attack. However, many analysts alleged Covid-19. His wife had earlier been evacuated to Nairobi, Kenya for treatment, allegedly for the virus.

In July, the incoming government adopted a new Covid-19 response strategy, putting in place measures and restrictions including mandatory Covid-19 negative test results and quarantine at a government designated facility for incoming travellers. Land borders with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda were closed and the new president declared Covid-19 “the biggest enemy of Burundians.”

Both Magufuli and Nkurunziza were fervent Christians, the Tanzanian a devout Catholic, the Burundian a Pentecostal, and both had a penchant for populist politics. The intersection of religion, social media misinformation and populism in the two presidents’ approach created a perfect combination for an anti-science, conspiracy-filled fertile ground for Covid-19 misinformation to thrive.

Weaponisation of Social Media

Only 22% of the continent’s population has internet access. While the digital divide between rural and urban Africans is still wide, with increasing availability of cheap smartphones, and enabling infrastructure like rural electrification and broadband programmes, there is increased access to information via online platforms compared to traditional broadcast media. This is creating a challenge with communities that are not media-savvy and are unable to decipher context or fact-check information received, and are therefore more prone to misinformation.

Consequently, social media has had a devastating role in fueling Covid-19 misinformation in Africa. From ‘WhatsApp aunties,’ to religious leaders who claim that the virus does not exist, or that Africans are immune to it, or that it is just the flu, or a punishment from God, the information ecosystem has been fostering faster spread of Covid-19 denialism. This ecosystem feeds off each other, mutates and multiplies just like the virus itself as it moves easily and seamlessly across platforms reaching broad audiences. An obscure video from Brazil will reach the remotest village in Nigeria within minutes.

Socio-Economic Impacts of Covid-19 Denialism

As more African countries procure vaccines and inoculate citizens, it is expected that the pandemic will soon recede, and economies are revived. Approaches like that of Tanzania will likely harm its once thriving tourism industry as more tourists perceive it as an unsafe destination. Already, a number of countries have banned flights to and from Tanzania, including some neighbouring ones like Kenya that have closed some borders with the country. Most Western embassies currently maintain the highest-level travel risk advisories against the country. Prior to the outbreak of the pandemic, tourism was Tanzania’s fastest growing sector, employing over 10% of the total workforce and serving as the largest single source of foreign currency. The proposed adoption of Vaccine Passports, if implemented, is likely to further isolate the country.

Corruption and Covid Conspiracies

Meanwhile, Covid-19 has turned out to be not just a health and economic crisis but also a corruption crisis. The 2020 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released on January 28, 2021 by Transparency International reveals that persistent corruption is undermining health care systems and contributing to democratic backsliding amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Politicians, from South Africa to Uganda, have taken advantage of the pandemic to illegally seize lucrative procurement deals, and gone on borrowing sprees, ballooning countries’ domestic and external debt in the process. This has further fuelled conspiracies in some countries that Covid-19 and its numbers are a ploy by corrupt leaders to rip off taxpayers.

Ultimately, the seeds of misinformation, including a culture of mistrust and skepticism against the government, have the potential to affect public programme implementation, in public health and beyond, as populations will continue to question the science and intentions.

Addressing the Covid Denialism Infodemic

• Misinformation counter-narratives: As fake news and misinformation thrive on social media, governments need to utilise the same platforms, including through champions, with counter scientific messaging to allay fears, misconceptions and conspiracy theories.
• Multi-agency coordination and collaboration: Close coordination and collaboration among fact-checkers, public health institutions and other communications stakeholders is essential for addressing the unique misinformation challenges faced today, “where informational ambiguity based on scant or conflicting evidence, or emerging scientific knowledge can exacerbate the spread of disease.”
• Narrow the Digital Divide: Dedicated efforts to promote connectivity in tandem with digital and media literacy programmes should be scaled up.
• Promote Covid-19 data transparency: Many African countries have established Covid-19 websites and information portals where infections, deaths and recovery rates are published. Meanwhile, the WHO Africa Region and CDC Africa run dashboards that are updated daily. However, many other governments still do not report routine Covid-19 data. Readily available, accessible data including on cases, procurement, vaccines, emergency relief and other measures will provide firsthand evidence to users and dispel misinformation and improve transparency around containment measures.

Bernard Sabiti is a Kampala-based Public Policy researcher and analyst focussing on the role of data and access to information in sustainable development.

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Just when many thought press freedom had hit rock bottom in Burundi, the government-controlled National Communication Council’s (CNC) Media Awards this week have added insult to injury.

The theme of this year’s ceremony was to celebrate “the role of the media in ‘sanitizing’ the context for the 2020 elections in Burundi,” and honored an unlikely candidate with first prize in the TV category: the communications team of the Burundian national police. Setting aside the obvious – security forces being celebrated with a media award – police in Burundi have been implicated in countless abuses, including killings, excessive use of force, arbitrary arrests and torture of suspected political opponents, and repeatedly harassing journalists who attempt to report on these crimes.

The winner of the print media category was Edouard Nkurunziza, a journalist with Iwacu, the last remaining independent media outlet in Burundi. He told Human Rights Watch that he could not collect his award because he has been living in hiding since he was threatened back in March by a lawmaker. Nkurunziza said that since he went into hiding, he has continued to receive threats. Iwacu wrote a letter raising the case with the president of the National Assembly, which has gone unanswered.

Nkurunziza has good reasons to be afraid. Yesterday, four of his colleagues appeared in court to appeal their sham conviction and two- and-a-half year jail sentence. They were arrested in October 2019 while on a reporting trip to cover fighting between rebels and security forces, and, after a flawed trial, were convicted of attempting to undermine state security. Another one of his colleagues, Jean Bigirimana, has been missing since he disappeared on a reporting trip in July 2016. Unconfirmed reports indicated that members of the Burundian intelligence services arrested him.

Only weeks away from the country’s next presidential elections, phony awards from the state’s media regulator add an ironic twist to the threats and attacks independent journalists in Burundi continue to face. In these critical times, reporters are needed more than ever to expose wrongdoing and speak truth to power.

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