A bus driver was beaten up and then jailed for hitting a pick-up of the Minister of Public Security’s guard on Thursday 14 July. The victim’s family is surprised by such a treatment for a mere traffic accident.
Noé Ntigirankabo lying in the middle of street after being seriously beaten.
“Cars collided in the roundabout opposite the former Novotel Hotel. The ministerial escort suddenly crossed the road to turn into Uprona Boulevard. The bus driver could not stop on time” says an eyewitness. So the driver, Noé Ntigirankabo, bumped into one pick-up of the guard of the Public Security Minister, Alain Guillaume Bunyoni.
Then, “the Coaster bus bashed into a lamp post. The guard police officers pulled off and started kicking and beating the bus driver with rifle butts. We felt sorry for him”, says another witness. Afterwards, the driver was forcibly taken to Bujumbura city police station (Former BSR).
Pictures of the scene of the driver being beaten were quickly and widely spread on social media. A man is seen lying in the street, surrounded by many police officers. According to witnesses, the police raided the floor building overlooking the roundabout. “Two girls were arrested under suspicion of having taken pictures. They were freed after one night in prison”, discloses a person working in that building.
“It was just a mere accident”
According to one victim’s relative, the unfortunate driver, father of four children can hardly move. “He has backaches and his eye is still swollen following rifle butts”. Noé Ntigirankabo’s family talks of injustice and inhuman treatment. “It was just a plain accident as it is common in Bujumbura”.
Another relative complains that the victim has not got any treatment except some pills brought by his wife. “Moreover, no criminal investigation police officer has so far come to interrogate him. We plead for his release; he is the breadwinner in his family”.
For Armel Niyongere , the ACAT Burundi chairperson, it’s a shame that the security minister does himself justice whereas the traffic safety police department falls under his ministry. “It’s a blatant violation of human rights and criminal law procedure. The minister should instead take a disciplinary action against the authors of the act to set a good example against impunity. Otherwise, his silence is complicity. He urges the general prosecutor to start credible investigations and sentence the actors.
In a press conference on Tuesday 19 July, Minister Bunyoni declined to answer a question by Iwacu about the matter.
“Dignitaries do not respect the traffic regulations”
For some time, residents of the capital criticize the way some high government officials drive in Bujumbura city. “The police slapped me because I had not freed a way to a dignitary escort. I could not do anything because of the traffic jam, “said one driver. “Such an attitude must change”, adds another. Iwacu tried to contact Innocent Alfred Museremu, the traffic regulation officer, but in vain.
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By Fabrice Hakizimana translation by Innocent Habonimana.
IWACU Open Data
