BUJUMBURA May 7th (ABP) – Security has been generally good throughout the territory of the Republic of Burundi during the month of April, according to the spokesman of the Ministry of Public Security and Disaster Management, OPP1 Pierre Nkurikiye.
During a press briefing held in Bujumbura on Friday, OPP1 Nkurikiye said that people normally went about their business in peace, that statistics show that crime has dropped dramatically and that almost all alleged perpetrators were apprehended and brought to justice. As an illustration, OPP1 Nkurikiye said that 19 cases of assassination and murders were recorded in April 2018 against 46 cases in March 2018. The robberies went from 246 cases in March to 31 in April. Kidnappings went from seven cases in March to two cases in April. He mainly explained this fall in crime through intensive prevention operations conducted by the Burundi National Police (PNB).
Among the criminal events that received particular attention from the police during the month of April, the spokesman quoted a grenade that was thrown on April 3rd in a bar of
Carama in Kinama commune of the Bujumbura City, seriously wounding five people and damaging a vehicle. To that end, a criminal case has been opened.
In Kivoga in Gahombo Commune of Kayanza Province (north), two people were killed and 33 were wounded, six were seriously injured, following two grenades that exploded on April 21st.
On April 16th, one person was killed and three others were injured in a village in Kagwema of Gihanga Commune in Bubanza Province (north-west), after an ambush attempt against a vehicle. On April 10th and 12th, two executives of BUCECO (Burundi cement company) were kidnapped. One was released after a few hours while the other is still unfindable. The investigation is under way to find him and arrest the kidnappers, said OPP1 Nkurikiye.
On the night of 25th to 26th April, robbers armed with rifles and machetes stole a fishing engine and two cans of gasoline belonging to a fisherman in the Lake Tanganyika, in the Gatete of Rumonge commune and province (southwest).
In addition, 22 people died by drowning in the various rivers of the country, in the marshes, the brooks, the wells or the ditches filled with water, following the floods, deplores the Ministry in charge of the Public security. Nine others were taken away by other incidents including lightning, electrocution and the landslide, he said.
Some 25 people died as a result of road accidents and 10 others committed suicide due to family conflict or various personal problems, OPP1 Nkurikiye said, recalling that the floods also caused significant material damage, particularly in Carama, Bujumbura City.
In addition, nearly 2,500 Eusébie Ngendakumana’s followers were received in early April from Rwanda, where they had spent a few days, after suddenly leaving DR Congo where they had been living since 2015. They are now in their respective home families.
For this month of May underway, OPP1 Nkurikiye said, the Ministry of Public Security and Disaster Management is hard at work fighting crime in all its forms, especially terrorism characterized by throwing grenades. It is also ready to ensure the security of the next referendum of May 17th, starting with the election campaign in progress since May
