🇧🇮 Intelligence Brief| Burundi Arrests Top Intelligence Officer Bertin Gahungu: Power Struggles and Security Implications
Ujasusi Blog’s Great Lakes Monitoring Team | 25 August 2025 | 1050 BST
Executive Summary
On 22 August 2025, Burundian authorities arrested Major General Bertin Gahungu (former intelligence chief) in a dramatic move that signals President Évariste Ndayishimiye’s deepening authoritarian consolidation. Although Gahungu has long been accused of a brutal role in the 2015 repression, his arrest was officially justified not on human rights grounds but on charges of “undermining internal security” and “insulting the Head of State.” Evidence points to an ongoing purge within the ruling CNDD-FDD as Ndayishimiye seeks to eliminate potential rivals and reinforce his control over the military and intelligence apparatus. The arrest does not mark any break with Burundi’s dire human rights record, but rather exemplifies the regime’s use of security and legal mechanisms to suppress dissent and internal opposition.