At least one robber was killed and another one injured by the police on a night patrol on 12 April in Kibenga southern and Buterere northern neighborhoods of the Burundian capital Bujumbura.
The robber was killed trying to escape
A man known as Régis, in his forties, was killed by the police in the night of 12 April in “rural” Kibenga neighborhood in south Bujumbura. The victim was recently released from the Mpimba central prison thanks to the presidential pardon granted to 2,000 prisoners in January 2017.
Residents of the area say he was with other three bandits armed with machete when he got shot. “It was around midnight when the police on a night patrol in the locality caught the bandit with machete. He has promised to show the police the place where the other robbers were but he unfortunately attempted to escape before they reached the gang. We heard the police forcing him to speak”, says a resident of the area.
Emile Nemerimana, local chief, says the power cut also contributes to the deterioration of the security situation in the area. “As we cannot control the free movement of people in the locality in the night because of electric power failure, robbers take advantage of the obscurity to disrupt security”, he says.
Pierre Nkurikiye, Spokesman for the police, says the robber was trying to escape when the police on a night patrol shot at him.
67 armed groups dismantled in three months
In the same night of 12 April, Joseph Miburo, another robber, was caught by the police in Buterere neighborhood in the northern Bujumbura neighborhood. “The police shot and injured him on his legs. He is now hospitalized in the hospital of the medical charity “Médecins Sans Frontières”, says Nkurikiye.
The Police spokesperson says at least 10 bandits with machetes have been arrested since the phenomenon of “banditry” started in the southern neighborhoods of the Burundian capital. Nkurikiye calls on the residents of the locality to be more vigilant and alert the police in case there would be any suspicious activity in the area.
In the night of 11 leading to 12 April, Stany Niyonizigiye was found dead under his car nearby his home in Kinanira neighborhood of Muha southern commune of Bujumbura City.
At around 8 p.m. of the same night, Evelyne Nizigiyimana was killed in Ngozi Province center. The victim was working for Ngozi Coopec, a private financial institution, in the department in charge of credit. One person was later arrested for investigation.
On 11 April, the Minister of Public Security, Alain Guillaume Bunyoni produced a report of 40 weapons seized from January to March 2017. He said 67 armed groups have been dismantled and more than six thousand troublemakers have been arrested. The Minister of Security estimates that the number of weapons seized and perpetrators apprehended during the first 3 months decreased compared to the previous toll record. “This is proof that the disarmament campaign has had an impact,” he said.
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