Two families in Raro locality in Nyabiraba commune of Bujumbura province say they have intense fear after a group of people who destroyed their banana plantations this Monday, September 23rd have promised to kill them when they come back.
Banana plantations have been destroyed over a land conflict in Nyabiraba commune
At 3 p.m. in Raro locality in Nyabiraba commune, young and adult people of two families are filled with fear. They say security is not guaranteed for them. After their banana plantations have been destroyed, they cannot sleep in their houses. They are afraid that hunger is likely to strike in their families. They say some of the families’ members have already fled the area.
“It was almost 7 a.m. when they came with machetes and started to cut down the banana plantations,” says Angeline Bandyambona, an old woman who belongs to one of the two families. After cutting the plantations, they said they will come back to kill us, she adds.
She says the plantations have been destroyed by a group of young people from Mutambu commune of the same province led by some administrative officials of Raro locality.
Mrs. Bandyambona says her family has a land conflict with another family from Mutambu commune and the case is in justice.
She calls on the administration to protect her family and punish people who destroyed her plantations.
“They should have waited for the justice to announce the final decision before they destroy our plantations,” says Alexandre Nahimana, Bandyambona’s son, aged 52 and father of seven.
He says the conflict between his family and another one from Mutambu commune started in 1984 and the case is now in the Ministry of Justice.
It has been the same case at a nearby family. The same group of people from Mutambu commune destroyed the family’s banana and vegetable plantations.
Rosalie Nahabandi, a mother of eight says hunger is likely to strike in her family after her plantations of bananas and vegetables have been destroyed.
She says her family is afraid that the group of ‘criminals’ may come back. “We cannot sleep in the house, we spend the night in the forest,” she adds.
A neighbor of the two families says such an act is a threat to security. He calls on the administration to intervene so no serious crimes be committed at the place.
Béatrice Ntunzwenimana, Deputy Chief of Raro locality says the administration is aware of the situation. She confirms the presence of the administration when a family from Mutambu destroyed the banana plantations.
She says there is a land conflict between the two families and the family from Mutambu commune. “The justice divided the land into two parts but the two families have forcibly occupied the other’s piece of land,” she adds.
Mrs. Ntunzwenimana says the family which has cut down the banana plantations of others has documents from justice which grant them the right to get back their piece of land.
“The local administration could not stop them as they had documents from justice and the National Commission for Land and other Assets-CNTB,” she adds.
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