Burundi

Burundi is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of East Africa. Historically a Bantu Kingdom that was incorporated into German East Africa, it then came under Belgian rule until independence in 1962. It initially maintained its monarchy which was subsequently replaced by a one-party system. A multi-party system and new constitution was established in 1992.¹

Burundi’s history has long been fraught with ethnic tensions and violence between the Tutsi and Hutu ethnic groups. After a period of relative progress following the end of a 12-year civil war, the nation has faced a new phase of political and economic crisis since 2015. Fighting between the army and rebel groups has resulted in hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing to neighboring countries. Widespread human rights violations, persecution of the political opposition and deep rooted corruption has long kept the country on the radar of the international human rights community.²

Burundi has a population of about 13.2 million.³ It is one of the poorest countries in the world with more than half the population living below the poverty line.⁴

According to the last available census data (2008), 62 % of the population is Roman Catholic, 21.6% Protestant, 2.3% Seventh-day Adventist, 2.5% Muslim and 3.7% belong to Indigenous religious groups. An estimated 6.1% have no religious affiliation.⁵

Religious groups appear to coexist and interact with few reports of tensions or conflict.

Constitution and government

The Constitution defines the State as secular.⁶ The law protects religious freedom and outlaws religious discrimination (Articles 13, 22, 31).

Decline in democracy

General Evariste Ndayishimiye has been Burundi’s President since June 2020, taking over from Pierre Nkurunziza who favored him as the next candidate for the ruling National Council for the Defense of Democracy – Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) political party. It was Nkurunziza’s decision to stand for a third term in office, in violation of the two-term constitutional limit, which led to the violent turmoil in 2015.

In what appears to be a further move to restrict democratic freedom in the country, a new Electoral Code was adopted by Parliament in April 2020. The code makes it more difficult for political candidates to stand for election. According to the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Burundi, “this measure appears to be aimed specifically at Agathon Rwasa, the opposition figurehead who was ousted from the leadership of the Congrès national pour la liberté in March 2024, to prevent him from standing in the 2025 elections.”⁷

Impunity for human rights violations

According to the report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Burundi, the country has experienced “a narrowing of civic space and repression of political opponents, media professionals and human rights defenders”. There is a climate of fear and impunity for serious human rights violations. Organizations based outside the country have documented alarming numbers of arbitrary arrests, torture and extrajudicial killings.

“For the period from July 2023 to April 2024, Ligue Iteka reported 591 cases of arbitrary arrest, 43 cases of torture, 415 cases of extrajudicial execution, 25 cases of enforced disappearance and 129 cases of gender-based violence. Between August 2023 and May 2024, Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture in Burundi (ACAT-Burundi) reported 154 cases of extrajudicial execution, 151 cases of arbitrary arrest and 38 cases of torture.”⁸

Instrumentalization of religion

President Ndayishimiye is described as a “fervent” Catholic⁹ and, like his predecessor, emphasizes the role of God in politics.¹⁰ He has accused those opposing him as going against the will of God and those who do not believe in his promises for the country as being in the service of Satan.¹¹ During the latest annual celebration organized by the President and his family to mark the anniversary of his inauguration, a preacher reminded those who did not support the President that, “all those who oppose the one chosen by God expose themselves to his fury”.¹²

Legal restrictions on the non-religious

According to Article 68 of the law on religious groups, it is against the law for any individual to profess themselves to be God and it is illegal to promote atheism.

Government interference in religion

Although freedom of religion is generally observed by the Burundi government and law, government interference in religion has occurred. The President and numerous other high level government officials have frequently visited a variety of churches and Muslim communities, and are even given opportunities to preach.¹³ In 2019, the UN Commission of Inquiry on Burundi reported that the government was exerting more control over churches to curb political dissent.¹⁴

A revision to the law on religious groups came into force in September 2024¹⁵ with the aim of resolving conflicts within church leaderships. The new law does away with the previous body responsible for regulation and mediation of religious groups and places responsibility directly with the Ministry of the Interior. A framework for dialogue has been established between religious groups and the State.¹⁶ All groups must register with the Ministry of the Interior and report annually on their activities.

The penalty for failing to register or practicing religion if registration is denied, is a prison sentence of between six months and five years, or a fine of up to 1 million Burundian Francs (approx. 344 USD).¹⁷

The new law also stipulates a list of rules that religious groups must adhere to (e.g. the distance to be maintained between places of worship, the academic level of the legal representative of the group etc) which religious leaders are reported to find restrictive and cumbersome.¹⁸

In April 2023, 61 worshippers of the “World’s Glory Church of Christ” were arrested in Ngozi Province, charged with making noise and worshiping in an unauthorized location. They were detained at a police station in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions.¹⁹

Religious groups are not exempt from tax or eligible for other benefits, however they are entitled to a tax exemption on imported goods if these goods are for social projects or public benefit. The State does not fund the functioning of any religious group but it may support their programs within the framework of a specific agreement.²⁰

Education and children’s rights

The official education program includes religious and moral classes in the curriculum for all secondary and primary schools. The program includes religious classes for Catholicism, Protestantism, and Islam, depending to some extent on demand or on local religious backgrounds. Students are free to choose from one of these three classes or attend a Moral education class instead.²¹

Many secondary schools are run by religious groups, predominantly the Catholic Church, under contract to the Education Ministry.²²

The government allows some religious schools to benefit from tax exemptions when purchasing school equipment and materials or investing in infrastructure.²³

Family, community and society

“Moralizing” society

In 2017, President Nkurunziza launched a campaign to “moralize society”, cracking down on cohabiting, unmarried couples. President Ndayishimiye has continued on this trajectory.

Article 554 of the Penal Code²⁴ and Article 42 of the Law on the Protection of Victims of Gender Based Violence²⁵ criminalizes cohabitation of unmarried couples. This is in spite of Article 42 of the Constitution which states that:

“no one may be subjected to arbitrary interference with his or her privacy, family, home or correspondence or to attacks on his or her honor or reputation.”

The 2024 report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Burundi noted the renewed crackdown on cohabiting couples which has reportedly driven at least 900 women and 3,600 children from their homes in the North of the country.²⁶

“In some cases, women in cohabiting relationships, along with their children, have been sent back to their parents’ homes. In other cases, families have been separated, children have been separated from their mothers and forced to live with their father’s first wife, or men have been forced to live with their first wife.”²⁷

Women’s rights

Discrimination against women in Burundi persists in law as well as practice. Due to customary law, women are typically unable to inherit property.²⁸ According to the citizenship code, a Burundian woman married to a foreign national cannot pass on her citizenship to her husband or children.²⁹

In July 2023, the UN Human Rights Committee expressed concern about persistent violence against women in Burundi and the low rate of reporting and prosecutions.³⁰ In the same year, according to Amnesty International,

“the minister of interior made threatening and derogatory remarks about single mothers, following his earlier drive to prevent the registration of births of children to “unknown fathers”. He called on local administrators in Busiga commune in Ngozi province to beat them until they revealed the name of their children’s father.”³¹

Abortion

The law on abortion in Burundi is reflective of the deeply conservative attitudes prevalent in the country.³² Article 534 of the penal code allows abortion only on the grounds of serious danger to the life or health of the woman.³³ Despite past debates initiated by women’s rights groups proposing that the law should be amended to allow abortion in the case of rape, the law has remained unchanged.³⁴

LGBTI+ rights

Article 29 of the Constitution forbids same sex marriages, but “homosexuality” was only made illegal in Burundi in 2009 (Article 590 of revised Penal Code).³⁵ Since then there has been a rise in arbitrary arrests on “homosexuality” charges.³⁶

In February 2024, 24 people were arrested in the capital, Gitega, at a workshop on HIV/AIDS. They, and two others later added to the case, were charged with “homosexual practices and incitement to homosexual practices”. In August, seven were found guilty. One of the accused, due to be released, died in custody.³⁷

President Ndayishimiye has used bible references to oppose “homosexuality” and made extreme homophobic remarks, describing “homosexuality” as a “curse”. In December 2024, he told journalists at a press conference that “homosexuals” found in Burundi “should be stoned”.³⁸

The UN Human Rights Committee has expressed concern about the incitement of hatred and violence towards LGBTI+ people in Burundi, including by those at the highest levels of government. It has called for the abolishment of discriminatory laws and for those responsible for discrimination and violence to be investigated and prosecuted.³⁹

Freedom of expression, advocacy of humanist values

Under Ndayishimiye, democratic space in Burundi has been shrinking and an increasingly authoritarian government continues to repress political opponents. Corruption is widespread and there is general impunity for human rights violations.

While freedom of expression is guaranteed in the Constitution (Article 32), press laws place restrictions on journalists.⁴⁰ Defamation and insult are prohibited and may be punished with harsh fines and imprisonment. Journalists have been censored by authorities and have censored themselves as well.

The government dominates the media. Radio is the primary news source for many Burundians, but most privately owned radio stations were shut down in the 2015 crisis. Some private broadcast media outlets still exist, but many Burundians look to social media as a news source. There are over 1.6 million internet users in the country.⁴¹

Burundi ranks poorly on the World Press Freedom Index⁴² and is described as maintaining a hostile environment for the press. The released journalist, Floriane Irangabiye, spent nearly two years in prison between 2022-2024 on charges of endangering the integrity of the national territory after hosting a debate with two critics of the Burundian government.⁴³ Another journalist, Sandra Muhoza, is still held in detention at the time of writing, having been charged with “endangering state security and ethnic hatred”. She was arrested following a comment she posted on a whatsapp group for journalists about a story implicating people in the government. She faces a possible life sentence.⁴⁴

Morality laws used to curtail blasphemous expression

While Burundi does not have any specific ‘blasphemy’ laws in place, Article 587 of the Penal Code does criminalize acts that “offend public decency”. In April 2022, a young Burundian rapper was detained for almost six months for releasing a video considered to be “blasphemous”, featuring himself and a woman dressed in religious attire and dancing erotically.⁴⁵

Stifled civic space

The Constitution provides for freedoms of assembly and association (Article 32), but the government has threatened members of human rights groups that criticize it and subjected them to surveillance. The laws for registering NGOs are restrictive⁴⁶ and organizations face persecution for activity seen as hostile to the government.⁴⁷

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