Breaking Burundi

Burundian independent radio station Bonesha FM has launched a 45-day fundraising campaign as it struggles with financial difficulties threatening its ability to sustain operations. The campaign, dubbed “I Support Bonesha Because I Have the Right to Information,” was officially launched on Friday, October 30, during a press conference in Bujumbura, the country’s economic capital.

The Burundian Ministry of Agriculture has authorized farmers cultivating large areas of land, as well as members of agricultural cooperatives, to apply for permits to import chemical fertilizers, as the country continues to grapple with persistent shortages of agricultural inputs.

Civil society organisations in Burundi have questioned the composition and effectiveness of a committee established by President Évariste Ndayishimiye to oversee the country’s national strategy against corruption and economic malpractice, warning that its structure could create conflicts of interest.

Burundi’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has suspended the reception of new accreditation applications from agencies recruiting Burundian workers for employment abroad, following allegations of legal violations and growing concerns over the treatment of migrant workers.

Burundi’s opposition party Sahwanya-FRODEBU has said it will not field a candidate in the May 2027 presidential election, citing a lack of assurances that alleged irregularitiesin last year’s parliamentary and local elections would be addressed.

Twelve Burundian women died in Arab countries between 2025 and May 2026 after travelling abroad for work, a local rights organisation said, prompting renewed calls for tighter oversight of recruitment agencies accused of trafficking and exploiting migrant workers. ALUCHOTO, an organisation that campaigns against unemployment and torture, said in a report that 121 other women had suffered domestic or sexual violence, while 97 had been unlawfully confined in their employers’ homes.

Burundi’s President Évariste Ndayishimiye has threatened to dismiss the entire leadership of the country’s revenue authority unless it changes its conduct, accusing officials of enabling tax fraud and obstructing efforts to improve revenue collection.

Business operators in Burundi have warned that persistent power outages, fuel shortages, limited access to foreign currency and a lack of cash in commercial banks could force companies across several sectors to shut down. The concerns were raised at a meeting on Wednesday with Trade, Industry, Transport, Mining and Tourism Minister Hassan Kibeya, who pledged to establish an inclusive committee to examine the problems and propose solutions.

Share In Burundi, working as a journalist increasingly means trying to do a demanding job with inadequate pay, unreliable electricity, limited equipment and difficult access to information. Across public and private media houses, journalists and media managers describe an industry struggling under the weight of the country’s wider socio-economic difficulties.

Burundi has agreed to receive migrants deported from the United States under an arrangement with the administration of President Donald Trump, President Evariste Ndayishimiye said, making it the latest African country to accept people expelled by Washington. The timing and number of migrants expected to arrive in Burundi remain unclear.