Burundi: RSF once again demands the immediate release of Sandra Muhoza
The first hearing in Sandra Muhoza's appeal was due to take place on 4 March, but has been postponed without justification. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) repeats its call for the immediate release of the Burundian journalist, who was wrongly convicted for sharing information in a private Whatsapp group for media professionals.
A new chapter was due to open today in the unjust legal battle targeting Sandra Muhoza. The first appeal hearing of the La Nova Burundi journalist — sentenced to one year and nine months in prison in December 2024 — was due to take place on 4 March in Bujumbura. However, Sandra Muhoza is not on the list of detainees scheduled to appear, meaning the hearing was postponed with no known official justification.
In November 2024, the prosecution initially requested a 12-year prison sentence, a shockingly abusive demand. Detained since April 2024, the journalist was sentenced to 18 months in prison for “undermining the integrity of national territory” and three months for “racial aversion” after relaying information about alleged arms distribution by the current government in a private WhatsApp group for media professionals.
“Sandra Muhoza should never have been arrested or sentenced. As the country’s crucial legislative elections approach, the authorities must definitively end the repression of journalism. We reiterate our call for the journalist’s immediate release so she can be reunited with her family and resume her work.
After Sandra Muhoza was sentenced to 18 months in prison, her lawyer, Prosper Niyoyankana, appealed, hoping to be able to apply for her provisional release. Yet the public prosecutor's office also lodged an appeal, making any request for release legally impossible.
A determined career
Sandra Muhoza started her work as a journalist in November 2016, at the community radio station Ntumbero FM in northern Burundi which mainly covers economic and social issues. Five years later, the mother of three joined Bonesha FM, a radio station renowned for its outspoken tone. She then joined the online newspaper La Nova Burundi, based in the town of Ngozi in northern Burundi, where she was a correspondent until her arrest.
Before Sandra Muhoza, radio host Floriane Irangabiye of Igicaniro radio was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment in January 2023. Convicted on trumped-up charges, she was granted a presidential pardon in August 2024, after more than 700 days in detention.
