Burundi SNR Arrests Stone Evangelical Church Leader Amid Pastor Detentions

Bujumbura, September 30, 2026 — Following the detention of several pastors from the Banyamulenge community in Bujumbura, the National Intelligence Service (SNR) has arrested another leader from Stone Evangelical Church. Samuel Nkurunziza, a Burundian citizen and the churchs legal representative in Burundi, was arrested on Saturday, September 26, according to sources close to the church. His arrest comes about two weeks after that of Mark Ntayoberwa—a pastor within the same church and a member of the Banyamulenge community—who was also arrested by the SNR. Both men have remained in custody since then. According to their associates, their families have not received precise information regarding their situation. Two leaders from the same church arrested Samuel Nkurunziza is the legal representative of Stone Evangelical Church in Burundi. The church is located in the northern part of Bujumbura—Burundi’s commercial capital—and its congregation consists primarily of worshippers from the Banyamulenge community. Mark Ntayoberwa had been arrested approximately two weeks earlier. According to community members, the families of both leaders have not been officially informed of the specific grounds for their arrest or their place of detention. At this stage, there is no public information available to establish the charges brought against them. An independent church and a visionary based in Goma Community members describe Stone Evangelical Church as an independent church based in Bujumbura. Its visionary and founder is Reverend Paul Sunzu Ruganirwa, who lived in Burundi’s commercial capital for several years. Reverend Paul Sunzu Ruganirwa is currently in Goma, the capital of North Kivu—a city controlled by the AFC-M23 since January 2025. Some sources suggest that the church visionary’s presence in Goma could explain the arrests of the churchs religious leaders. However, at this stage, there is no public evidence establishing that Samuel Nkurunziza or Mark Ntayoberwa are involved in political or military activities linked to the AFC-M23. A religious matter should not be conflated with politics. We are very surprised to see Stone Evangelical Church leaders arrested in what we consider an unjust situation. Relations between Goma and Gitega are currently marked by political tensions, but we believe these tensions should not automatically be conflated with the Churchs activities, says a member of the Banyamulenge community in Bujumbura. According to him, the fact that the church visionary is in Goma is not enough to establish any political or military involvement on the part of the arrested religious leaders. If someone is suspected of committing an offense, they should be brought before the courts, and their family should be informed of the charges against them, he urges. Detentions in the city and refugee camps The arrests of Stone Evangelical Church leaders are taking place against a broader backdrop of multiple detentions involving members of the Banyamulenge community in Burundi, including pastors in the city of Bujumbura and in refugee camps. In Bujumbura, several Banyamulenge religious leaders have been arrested since the beginning of September, according to local sources. The specific reasons for many of these detentions have not been officially disclosed. In the Bwagiriza refugee camp—located in Ruyigi district, Buhumuza province, eastern Burundi—a man in his seventies from the Banyamulenge community was also abducted by agents of the Burundi National Police (PNB), who subsequently handed him over to the SNR, according to witnesses. These arrests are sparking concern within the community, against a regional backdrop marked by the war in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and tensions between Gitega, Kinshasa, and Kigali. The AFC-M23 and Twirwaneho in the South Kivu highlands In South Kivu, Twirwaneho—an armed group composed primarily of fighters from the Banyamulenge community—is integrated into the AFC-M23 and is amon