Office of Transition Initiatives

Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance

United States Agency for International Development

Hot Topic / BURUNDI / August 2004

OTI’s Community-based Peace and Reconciliation Initiative Counters Rumors in Burundi

On August 1, 2004, a Community-based Leadership Program (CBLP) participant called on the training he had received to save a neighbor’s life. A rumor that members of one ethnic group are injecting members of another with deadly poison is not new to the country, but it is gaining strength as elections near. In this case, two Hutu residents of a colline (hillside) in Butezi Commune, Ruyigi Province accused a Tutsi returnee from a nearby internally displaced persons (IDP) camp of the crime and rallied their family members to kill him. Fortunately, a local CBLP leader used his conflict mitigation training to save the Tutsi returnee and resolve the conflict peacefully. As a result, the Tutsi returnee was able to leave the IDP camp and remain in the colline. Of note, the local leader is Hutu and a family member of the alleged Hutu victims.

This is one of many successful reconciliation efforts that CBLP Master Trainers are reporting during this time of increased distrust between Hutus and Tutsis in Burundi. Given the rumor-related killings taking place in other locations and the potential for this violence to become widespread, communal administrators are acknowledging the importance of CBLP in mitigating local conflicts and praising the work of the Master Trainers.

In related efforts, Community-based Peace and Reconciliation Initiative (CPRI) media partners, state-run Burundi National Radio and Television (RTNB), and independent RSF Bonesha FM (Bonesha) are using CPRI programming to respond to rumors. Through visits to Gitega and Ruyigi Provinces, they are developing reports that counter local accusations. Bonesha has also aired interviews with Gitega’s Governor and the Ministers of Interior and Human Rights. Gitega’s Governor urged residents to bring cases involving rumors of poisoned syringes to his attention so that he could resolve them peacefully. The Ministers of Interior and Human Rights both called on national government officials, including President Ndayizeye, to speak publicly against such rumors and punish those guilty of spreading them.

OTI’s CPRI aims to strengthen communities’ capacity to benefit from and contribute to Burundi’s peace process. It has four program components: CBLP, media, vocational skills training and small grants. Its three implementing partners are: PADCO, Inc.; Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (WWICS); and, local NGO, African Strategic Impact (ASI).

For more information, visit our website at: http://www.usaid.gov/hum_response/oti/country/burundi/index.html