The imprisonment of a two-year-old
boy, Junior Nganjiyimana, and his mother Aline Ndikumana in Burundi has
provoked uproar since the past few days.
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| Aline Ndikumana is incarcerated with her two-year-old son, Junior Nganjiyimana on behalf of her husband (Courtesy) |
Their friends and relatives say the two were imprisoned in place of
Théogene Ndikumana, the head of the family, after a search in which weapons
were found in their home.
“She doesn’t know anything about politics. It hurts
when I see her in prison. It is a gross injustice,” says a close friend of
Aline Nduwimana. “We have become strangers to Junior. When I went to see them,
he was afraid of me,” says a family member.
Aline Ndikumana was arrested on September 1, 2019.
She is the wife of Théogene Ndikumana, communal secretary of the opposition
National Congress for Liberty (CNL).
She is incarcerated with her two-year-old son,
Junior Nganjiyimana. Aline Ndikumana is charged with “illegal possession of
firearms”. She was sentenced to 2 years in prison and fined BIF 100,000.
During the night of August 31 to September 1, 2019,
the police conducted a search operation in the home of Théogène Ndikumana in
Musenyi locality in Nyabiraba commune of Bujumbura province.
“The police arrived at 2 a.m. They were with the
Imbonerakure (young members of the ruling party). They surrounded the house.”
Four grenades and 30 cartridges were “found”. They
were wrapped in clothes of the family’s children and the trousers of Théogène
Ndikumana. The latter was not at home.
“I was with him at a party. He didn’t come home
that evening,” says a resident of Musenyi.
The police entered the house of the communal
secretary of CNL party, but found nothing. “When we heard the news that the
police were searching the house, we ran. I entered the house with the police.
We were afraid that people with bad intention would throw weapons into the
house. They found nothing,” says a neighbour of the family.
“I was outside. I heard Ndoricimpa, a local
Imbonerakure, calling the police to show them where to search,” said another
neighbor. “The day before, there was nothing. These are weapons that were put
in there overnight. ”
Aline Ndikumana got arrested immediately with her
two-year old child, Junior Nganjiyimana. In a trial, Aline got sentenced to 2
years. The prosecutor had requested 10 years in prison. “The judges saw that
the charges brought against Aline didn’t hold, but they were afraid to release
her,” says a relative.
“The judges said that the weapons were found in the
plot of Théogène, but it’s wrong. They were found in the plot of his neighbor,
Claude Barutwanayo. It’s really incomprehensible,” said an inhabitant of
Nyabiraba.
“My plot is not enclosed. Someone can come in any
way they want,” says Théogene Ndikumana from his place of exile. “The pair of
trousers they used to pack these so-called weapons was old and torn up. It was
not even washed. I had thrown it away. My children’s clothes were outside
because they had been washed,” says Théogène Ndikumana.
Théogène Ndikumana’s family was attacked on July
23, 2019. “I saw them coming. I recognized Alphonse Nsekakariyo and Alexandre
who is the leader of Cndd-Fdd party in Musenyi commune. I was saved by my
neighbors. I reported this attack, but nothing was done about it,” said
Théogène Ndikumana.
Sources in Nyabiraba commune say the communal
secretary of CNL party has been threatened since he took office. “The communal
administrator was among those who threatened him the most. He even wanted to
have him expelled from the school where he was working,” says a resident of
Nyabiraba.
Ferdinand Simbananiye, administrator of Nyabiraba
commune, categorically rejects the accusations: “I am not involved in this case
in any way. They were caught with weapons. The husband took off and the police
arrested his wife.”
The administrator does not think that it’s other
people who brought those weapons. He also denies having wanted to dismiss
Théogene from his work. “Is he the only CNL member who is in Burundi? Why did
he run away? Why do people hide behind political parties when they are caught
while committing a crime? ”
A human rights activist expresses her indignation
over the imprisonment of Aline Ndikumana and her baby for almost six months.
“It is a shame for the Burundian justice. They are in prison only because they
are the wife and son of a political opponent whom the police could not arrest.”
For her, this case is another illustration of the
manipulation of the Burundian justice for political ends. “I appeal to the
Justice Minister Aimée Laurentine Kanyana, who is also a mother like Aline
Ndikumana, to put an end to this gross injustice by releasing Aline Ndikumana
and her baby”. - Africa
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