BUJUMBURA, February 19th (ABP) – The Ombudsman of Burundi, Mrs. Aimée Laurentine Kanyana presented, on Monday, February 17, 2025, to the National Assembly, the annual report of the achievements made by the institution during the year 2024.
In her presentation, the Ombudsman of Burundi indicated that over 2024, activities were carried out, among others, the protection of citizens’ rights, conflict resolution, preservation of social peace and security.
Other activities were to build the capacities among community leaders from different political parties, civil society and the territorial administration on their contributions in the implementation of the national vision 2040-2060, she said. According to Mrs. Kanyana, the period was marked by a constant commitment to continue advocacy, developing field actions, for the prevention and resolution of citizens’ conflicts.
Regarding the grievances registered for the year 2024, the Ombudsman institution received 525 complaint files, including 1,462 complainants, including 744 women and 718 men. This is understood in the sense that a complaint can concern hundreds of complainants. Among these files, 359 were deemed admissible while 166 were inadmissible, she underscored.
When the grievance does not meet the legal conditions of admissibility, public administrations in collaboration with members of the community mediation mechanisms “Abunganizi b’Umuhuza w’Abarundi” help on this occasion.
In addition, field visits and public broadcasts were held to inform the population on current issues and collect their grievances in order to find solutions.
During the visits that the executives of the Ombudsman institution made to places of detention, including the Gitega police station, the Ngozi judicial police cell, the prison for minor men and women in Ngozi, detainees were released thanks to the intervention of the Ombudsman. On this occasion, eight schoolchildren, a sentry, a returnee as well as a woman and five men who were illegally detained were released from the Gitega and Ngozi police stations respectively.
Visits were made to different provinces for different missions including awareness-raising on improving the business climate, capacity building in the implementation and management of income-generating activities as well as social cohesion, she said. In terms of international cooperation, the Ombudsman institution has increased contacts to diversify its bilateral partners, in order to expand cooperation and establish relations with other development partners.
With regard to economic and private initiatives, in the logic of promoting development towards the achievement of the government’s vision 2040-2060, the Ombudsman has supported and encouraged development initiatives through participation in development activities.
It is worth noting that the Burundi Ombudsman institution continues to identify problems in public administration and propose innovative solutions aimed at the well-being of citizens.