Burundi Hands Down Four-Year Prison Sentence to Journalist Sandra Muhoza

January 16, 2026 – Burundi –

Burundian journalist Sandra Muhoza, a reporter for the online news outlet La Nova Burundi, has been sentenced to four years in prison and fined 200,000 Burundian francs (approximately USD 68) following a high-court ruling in Ngozi, northern Burundi, on January 13, 2026. The judgment, delivered after nearly two years of detention, has drawn sharp criticism from international press freedom organisations, which regard both the charges and the process as deeply flawed and punitive.

Muhoza’s legal troubles began in April 2024 when she was arrested in connection with comments she shared in a private WhatsApp group of journalists about the alleged distribution of machetes by authorities to youth members of the ruling CNDD-FDD party. Initially, in December 2024, she was convicted by a Bujumbura court and sentenced to 21 months for “undermining the integrity of the national territory” and “racial aversion.” That conviction was subsequently invalidated by an appeals court in May 2025 on jurisdictional grounds, leading to a retrial in Ngozi.

In the latest judgment, the Ngozi High Court upheld similar charges but imposed a significantly harsher penalty. Muhoza’s defence team has vehemently rejected the verdict, with her lawyer Rémy Nsabimana arguing that the alleged conduct did not constitute a crime under Burundi’s penal code and signifying an absence of convincing evidence. Plans to appeal the sentence have been confirmed.

International rights and journalism advocacy groups have condemned the ruling and called for Muhoza’s immediate release. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) described the sentence as “extremely harsh” and emblematic of a broader trend to treat journalism as criminal conduct; it emphasised that Muhoza is currently the only female journalist arbitrarily detained in sub-Saharan Africa. RSF has escalated the case to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information and reiterated its demand that all charges connected to journalistic expression be dropped.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) also decried the judgment, labelling the prosecution as spurious and an affront to freedom of expression. CPJ representatives highlighted repeated violations of due process, urging Burundian authorities to release Muhoza unconditionally and end what they characterise as relentless legal harassment. Advocates stress that the case underscores deteriorating conditions for independent reporting in Burundi, which ranks poorly on global press freedom indices.

Reference – 

https://rsf.org/en/burundi-four-year-prison-sentence-sandra-muhoza-only-woman-journalist-detained-sub-saharan-africa

https://www.barrons.com/news/burundi-sentences-journalist-to-four-years-in-prison-bf4b1ac4

https://www.journalismpakistan.com/cpj-urges-burundi-to-free-journalist-sandra-muhoza

Burundi: Sandra Muhoza sentenced to 4 years in prison in 2nd trial