A journalist with Burundi’s state-run news agency known for his critical reports about the government has been jailed for allegedly inciting rebellion, an official said on Thursday.
Aloys Kabura, a reporter with Agence Burundaise de Presse, was detained on Wednesday and is being held at a prison in the northern town of Ngozi after the country’s secret police filed a complaint against him, he said.
”We had an arrest warrant for the journalist Aloys Kabura based on a complaint from the Documentation National,” said prosecutor Jean-Paul Manwangari from Kayanza, about 30km, from Ngozi.
”He is being investigated for having made defamatory comments about the government on April 21 in the presence of witnesses,” Manwangari said.
He said the charge against Kabura was ”rebellion,” which is punishable under Burundian law by a jail term of two months and/or a fine.
Kabura had been highly critical of the government after police surrounded the home of a politician who has made corruption allegations against the ruling party during an April 17 news conference.
Officers held about 20 journalists at the site for hours and beat several who tried to leave, prompting protests from diplomats and human rights groups.
Manwangari said Kabura’s arrest had nothing to do with the April incident. – Sapa-AFP