Freedom Index
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Nairobi, January 15, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Burundian authorities to end the persecution of jailed journalist Sandra Muhoza who has been given a four-year sentence for comments she made on WhatsApp, after almost two years in detention.
Muhoza, who was informed of the court’s decision on January 14, was also fined 200,000 Burundian francs (US$68), according to the news outlets SOS Médias Burundi and Radio Publique Africaine and a person familiar with her case, who spoke to CPJ on condition of anonymity, citing safety concerns.
“The sentencing of Sandra Muhoza to four years in prison is devastating in its cruelty and injustice, “said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Muthoki Mumo. “The case against her was spurious, authorities have repeatedly trampled her due process rights, and her continued persecution communicates Burundi’s utter disregard for freedom of expression. She should be released unconditionally.”
In April 2024, Muhoza, a journalist for the privately owned online newspaper La Nova Burundi, was arrested in connection to comments she made in a journalists’ WhatsApp group on the alleged distribution of machetes in the country.
In December 2024, she was convicted of undermining the integrity of Burundi’s national territory and inciting ethnic hatred and given a 21-month sentence, according to court documents reviewed by CPJ.
In May 2025, an appeal court invalidated the initial trial on jurisdictional grounds and fresh proceedings began in October, on the same charges. In December, 127 African women wrote to Muhoza, expressing solidarity and calling for her release.
Burundi is a difficult environment for the media, according to CPJ’s research that has documented previous prosecutions of journalists on anti-state charges similar to those faced by Muhoza as well as physical attacks on members of the press.
CPJ did not receive immediate responses to requests for comment send via email to Burundi’s ministry of justice and messaging app to government spokesperson Jérôme Niyonzima.
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