On September 28, 2026, Burundian journalist Alexis Ndayisenga was beaten by several police officers and detained for about an hour in Burundi’s largest city, Bujumbura, the journalist and the director of his outlet, Radio-Télévision Isanganiro, Charles Makoto, told CPJ.
Ndayisenga was among a group of passengers waiting for a bus to depart when the officers ordered them to get out and then started beating them when they refused, the two journalists said.
Ndayisenga said he protested and identified himself as a journalist, but the assault worsened and the officer in charge ordered him to be taken to a nearby station, where he was detained for about an hour.
Makoto told CPJ he believed Ndayisenga was targeted because he was a journalist.
On October 9, Ndayisenga told CPJ that he had been unable to return to work due to his injuries.
Police spokesperson Léopold Ndayishimiye denied that Ndayisenga had been detained, saying he was “escorted back to the bus and returned home without further issue.”
“It was a minor incident that occurred due to a misunderstanding between the journalist and a police officer at the bus terminal,” he said on October 8 via messaging app.