RSF - Reporters sans frontières
RSF - Reporters sans frontières
03/04/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 03/05/2026 06:20
Burundi: Sandra Muhoza granted provisional release after 685 days behind bars!
The Ngozi Court of Appeal, in northern Burundi, has ordered the provisional release of Sandra Muhoza, the only woman journalist detained in sub-Saharan Africa until now. This order brings an end to nearly two years of pretrial detention, ahead of the final verdict, which is expected to be delivered by 20 March. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) welcomes this decision, which will allow her to be reunited with her loved ones, and calls on the Burundian judiciary to drop all charges against the journalist.
Sandra Muhozacan see light at the end of the tunnel. The journalist with the online outlet La Nova Burundi, who has been detained since 13 April 2024, was granted provisional release on 4 March. The Prosecutor General at the Ngozi Court of Appeal ordered the measure in a document dated 27 February that RSF was able to read. However, the release order places her under judicial supervision, requiring her not to leave her "province of residence" and report to the judge once a month.
While this decision puts an end to nearly two years of pretrial detention, the appeal proceedings are still ongoing. At the beginning of 2026, the Ngozi High Court sentencedthe journalist to four years in prison. Her defence challenged the substance of the ruling and filed several requests for provisional release. During the appeal hearing on 20 February, the judges listened attentively to the arguments presented by the journalist's defence. Sandra Muhoza can now await the Court of Appeal's final verdict from her home, with her family.
"The provisional release of Sandra Muhoza, a journalist for La Nova Burundi who has been imprisoned since April 2024, is excellent news. Although it does not end the ongoing proceedings, it allows the journalist to be reunited with her family and colleagues and to receive the medical treatment she needs for her health issues. RSF welcomes the courageous decision taken by the chief prosecutor of the Ngozi Court of Appeal and now calls on the same court to drop all charges against the journalist.
Sadibou Marong
Director of RSF Sub-Saharan Africa
Shambolic proceedings
Sandra Muhoza was arrestedon 13 April 2024 in the city of Ngozi and accused of sharing information in a WhatsApp group for journalists about the alleged distribution of weapons by the Burundian authorities to young members of the ruling party. Five days later, she was transferred o Mpimba Central Prison in Bujumbura.
On 16 December 2024, the journalist was sentencedto 21 months in prison for "undermining the integrity of the national territory" and "racial aversion". Her defence appealed the decision, but the Mukaza Court of Appeal in Bujumbura, to which the case had initially been referred, ultimately declared itself incompetent to rule on the matter. This effectively annulled the initial proceedings. The case was then referred to the Ngozi High Court, in the city where Sandra Muhoza lives and was arrested. She was, however, not released, but transferred to the women's prison in Ngozi on 26 September 2025 as part of a second set of proceedings concerning the same case.
Published on04.03.2026
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