Burundi

For the second time in two years, a female journalist in Burundi has been convicted on questionable charges.

The media fraternity celebrates the early release of Floriane Irangabiye after she is granted full remission of the sentences handed down against her.

A series of alarming incidents involving journalists from the independent news outlet Iwacu Press Group raises serious concerns about their ongoing safety.

Burundian authorities have failed to provide journalist Floriane Irangabiye with the necessary medical care she requires.

President Évariste Ndayishimiye’s administration is asked to investigate the disappearance of news website reporter Jean Bigirimana, who went missing 7 years ago.

Broadcast journalist Floriane Irangabiye is sentenced to 10 years in prison on spurious charge of “endangering the integrity of the national territory”.

Rwanda-based Burundian journalist Floriane Irangabiye is arrested by police upon her return to her home country; although she has not been formally charged, she is accused of working with armed opposition groups and espionage.

Three years after the BBC was suspended from broadcasting in Burundi, the ban has been lifted by the country’s media regulator.

As Burundi experiences a surge in COVID-19 cases, President Évariste Ndayishimiye accuses journalist Esdras Ndikumana of inflating figures.

The case of Burundian journalist Jean Bigirimana, who disappeared in 2016, remains unsolved.

A year into his rule, Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye has taken several corrective measures, but has yet to make meaningful decisions to transform the restrictive media freedom and civic space.

The continent’s initially successful response to the pandemic was tainted by denialism, corruption and weaponisation of social media across several countries.

Burundi’s state-controlled awards illustrate the paradoxical media landscape in the country, as police scoop the top award while the print media category is awarded to a journalist in hiding as a way to flush him out.

Regional organisation AFEX is calling on Burundian authorities to reconsider the sentencing handed out to the #IWACU4 and unconditionally release the journalists.