Burundi: Intelligence Services Arrest Banyamulenge Members in Bujumbura

Burundian intelligence services in Bujumbura, Burundi, have recently arrested several members of the Banyamulenge community, including Pastors Jalos Nkunda Kilaya and Gédéon Nzayitegaho, amid heightened regional tensions in September 2026. These arrests, which occurred on September 8 and September 10, 2026, involved individuals being apprehended at Melchior Ndadaye International Airport and directly from a church congregation, respectively. Brigadier General Domitien Niyonkuru, head of domestic intelligence at the National Intelligence Service (SNR), was reportedly involved in supervising one of the arrests, which was followed by a search of the individual's home. The exact circumstances and official reasons for these detentions remain unclear, though unverified reports suggest one pastor possessed a Rwandan passport.