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In July 2017, my wife Emelyne Mupfasoni and I were awakened by dozens of armed members of the security forces who stormed our home in Burundi. Emelyne was five months away from giving birth to our third baby. Officers searched our home, intercepted my wife’s laptop, took me to my office to search it, and intercepted my laptop and other items. I was then taken to the National Intelligence Service, where I was detained for two weeks. I was held in inhumane conditions in the cell of the National Intelligence Service in Bujumbura before being taken to the Ngozi prison in northern Burundi.
My arrest was not surprising. Burundian human rights defenders, youths and political opponents who have called for respect for the law have been branded criminals since 2015. In April of that year, then-President Pierre Nkurunziza announced his decision to run for a third term. a movement that violates the country’s constitution. Many Burundians rejected the move in street protests, saying the government launched a wave of repression across the country.
As a result, civil society organizations at the forefront of protests against Nkurunziza suffered a relentless attack. Many human rights defenders, opposition leaders and journalists had to leave Burundi and many of those who remained were threatened and retaliated against, including arrest, prosecution for false accusations and forced disappearance. The situation has forced more than 400,000 Burundians to flee into exile to neighboring countries.
My work did not go unnoticed either. I have already escaped arrest and kidnapping on several occasions. When I was arrested, seeing many who had lost their lives before me and others who had disappeared under similar conditions, I immediately thought that my life was coming to an end and that the countdown had begun.
I was accused of a number of falsehoods, including “insurrection”, “destruction and destruction of private and public buildings”, “attack on state authority”, “participation in a movement insurrection” and “threatening the security of the state”. My work with the Christian Action for the Abolition of Torture (ACAT Burundi) was used against me.
I have always had a passion for improving the world, saving lives, and transforming the space in which I live. I hate injustice and I don’t like seeing other people hurt. That’s why I joined ACAT Burundi in 2004. From 2006 to 2010, I was part of an ACAT volunteer group that visited detention facilities across the country, before becoming head of the organization’s finance and administration in 2011. Then I went to work. Until I was arrested by the Burundian Association of Catholic Jurists (AJCB).
I was sentenced to 32 years in prison only for defending human rights. Imprisonment was extremely harsh. They harassed and harassed me. Everything in prison was done to make me suffer, depress me, discourage me, and silence other committed human rights defenders.
I spent almost a decade visiting prisons and I thought I knew what it was like to be inside, but I was wrong. I knew what prison was like when I was arrested and I knew that when I was finally released I would use that information to inform the prison system in Burundi.
In Burundi, prisons have lost their meaning: they are no longer prisons. Instead, prisons have become places that limit people like me: political opponents, those who dare to give opinions, and other innocent people. If your opinion disturbs certain authorities, you have problems.
When I was in prison, I found strength and resilience in my innocence. I knew that sooner or later the truth would come out. I was not the first person to be wrongfully arrested, nor the first to suffer such injustice and harassment. My case revealed everything I had done anonymously to previous victims.
For good reason, knowing that I was imprisoned for defending human rights was comforting. My case was well known to the people of Burundi and to the international community, and I knew that would help me and my victims. In a way, I felt better than going to jail because I was living in the hope that I would one day be able to regain my freedom and my family.
I was finally released in June 2021 and I was overjoyed. The first thing I did was get in touch with my family, my former colleagues, and my friends. I couldn’t wait to see my family again, including my son, the youngest I had ever met, who was arrested and born four months later. They give me such pride.
I am very grateful for the arbitrary detention and support I have received from human rights organizations since I was released from prison. Being part of Amnesty International’s Written Rights campaign was tremendous, and the waves of messages and letters from its supporters around the world gave me strength and courage and strengthened my commitment to human rights.
Despite my release, the human rights situation in Burundi remains worrying and my country has a long way to go. In May 2020, a new president was elected, but expectations of a major change in the state have diminished.
In his inauguration last year, President Evariste Ndayishimiye stated his intention to “build Burundi on a solid foundation, namely good governance, respect for human rights and protection.” However, he quickly turned away some human rights defenders as ‘puppets of the settlers’.
Despite some of the President’s announcements to the media in 2021, his government continues to view human rights work with suspicion, and severe human rights restrictions, including freedom of expression, remain in place.
According to several reports, compulsory disappearances have also been rampant, with the president and several other authorities continuing to ignore them, while rates of violence, kidnapping and murder against women remain high. The Burundian authorities have forgotten the struggle they experienced before they came to power and are now doing nothing to ensure the stability and future of our children. This must be changed, otherwise the younger generation will suffer.
Being imprisoned has helped me to identify the mistakes that the world suffers from, and has given me the determination to seek positive and lasting solutions so that we can all enjoy our rights and freedoms. Since my release, I have founded Together for the Support of Human Rights Defenders in Danger (ESDDH).
As a victim and survivor, I know how much help journalists, lawyers, human rights defenders, and others like them deserve for their work. I want to say to the people who are suffering from political persecution: Be strong and strong, it will end one day and you too will be able to regain your freedom and your family.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial attitude of Al Jazeera.
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