Above: Senior councillor of Cibitoke province governor, post officer of Mpimba prison, and IBJ Fellow Astère Muyango. Photo: courtesy of Jean-Baptiste Bouzard.

As of the 15th November 2009, a total of 461 juveniles are incarcerated in the 11 detention centres across the country. Among them, more than two thirds are still waiting for their trial. Further, juvenile criminality tends to increase.

This roundtable was thus an opportunity to discuss about this disquieting situation, firstly by identifying its deep causes. However, the main goal of the meeting was to bring members of the justice system together to find out appropriate solutions to the lack of proper juvenile criminal justice system in Burundi. To reach this objective, participants were divided in different groups according to their occupation. This enabled each member of each group to feel concerned about the issue and urged to commit himself, at his own level and within his capacity. Consequently, dialogs concluded with concrete suggestions aiming at ameliorating procedures involving children, finding alternative sanctions to imprisonment, and lastly improving children’s lives while imprisoned.

Above: Astère Summarizing work groups’ suggestions. Photo: courtesy of Claire Habimana.

Beside, copies of the new Penal Code and the Legal Defense Manual were distributed to participants. This manual was prepared by the attorney Mehdi Benbouzid with a view to build the capacity of Burundian lawyers to provide quality and committed counsel to clients. The discussions were an opportunity to point out that Burundi had ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which therefore ought to be enforced in the country. IBJ’s lawyer Herman Ndayishimiye brought some copies of the main articles of the Convention to remind the actors of the justice system of the Government’s obligations in terms of the administration of juvenile justice.

The outcome of this roundtable is truly encouraging. IBJ expected concrete commitments of participants, and the goal was reached. In a friendly atmosphere, each participant was urged to feel part of the Cibitoke justice system and ready to make his best to improve it.

Above: all participants gathered to make evolve minors’ judicial system. Photo: courtesy of Dieudonné Ndayishimiye.

The promises have been kept. A month after the commitments taken during the roundtable discussion, 3 lawyers left Burundi’s capital city, led by IBJ Legal Fellow – Herman Ndayishimiye-, on November 24th to head to Gitega’s prison where André Mbayabya, the Prison Director, was waiting for them. Together, they scoured prison records and identified 182 cases of irregular pre-trial detentions. Among this overwhelming figure, 28 cases were identified as requiring immediate atention. The 4 lawyers therefore met with their clients, got familiar with each of their stories and prepared their defense strategy. As agreed with Gitega’s prosecutor and the magistrates who had attended the roundtable discussion, a special court session was conducted the day after to expedite these 28 cases. The result was a resounding success: all 28 detainees were immediately released.

This is a particularly significant result in today’s Burundi: recent prison riots – first in Gitega and then in Mpimba, Bujumbura’s central prison – have thrown the light on the detrimental prison living conditions, which have gotten worse since the peak of 11,000 prisoners nationwide has been reached two months ago. Irregular pre-trial detentions overburden a prison system which is already in shambles. Prisoners are not the only one protesting against the situation: Mpimba’s prison officials have declared that they would not accept any new prisoner in the prison as long as the trial of the many pre-trial detainees is not expedited. The ball is in the court system’s court.

Above: The detainees being escorted by a policeman to the Gitega Tribunal de Grande Instance (Photo by Dieudonné Ndayishimiye)

Above: Volunteer lawyer Diane preparing the defense of a client (Photo by Dieudonné Ndayishimiye)

Above: Volunteer lawyer Zénon preparing the defense of a woman (Photo by Dieudonné Ndayishimiye)

Above: There aren’t sufficient handcuffs within Burundi’s justice system. Detainees are usually handcuffed by pairs. (Photo by Dieudonné Ndayishimiye)

Above: Volunteer lawyer Diane interviewing a client before his court hearing (Photo by Dieudonné Ndayishimiye)

Above: Burundian detainees queuing for justice (Photo by Dieudonné Ndayishimiye)

Above: Inside a women’s cell in Gitega prison (Photo by Nathalie Mohadjer)

Above: Portrait of Gitega Prison Director, André Mbayabaya (Photo by Nathalie Mohadjer)

He decided to join the Burundi Bar Association in 1999. Since then, he has multiplied significant experiences in the field of criminal justice – his main area of expertise – for a variety of organizations, whether with grassroots NGOs (our partner organization APRODH); international organizations (BINUB), or governmental bodies (Ministry of Human Rights). He has actively researched, debated and proposed concrete solutions about access to legal aid, torture prevention and ways to guarantee that criminal procedures are upheld. One of his most formative experiences was when he worked as a legal aid lawyer for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, where he represented accused persons in the Court of Appeal.

Herman’s many years of experience, in combination with his participation in both of IBJ’s Burundi criminal defense trainings, ensure that the defendants he represents will be provided with effective, efficient and committed counsel.

Herman will be responsible for organizing and leading a core group of volunteer lawyers. Not only will this group provide, in accordance with the agreement with the Bar Association, additional legal counsel to those who desperately need it, but they will also work towards institutionalizing a vibrant, sustainable and organic criminal defense community in Burundi.

Finally, he will be responsible for developing a Burundi-specific criminal defense training curriculum, including elements of the adversarial system, with the support of other criminal justice experts. As Burundi has recently joined the East Africa Law Society, an organization promoting the practice of adversarial law, it is essential that Burundian lawyers be able to access the legal resources and training materials required to keep abreast of these innovations.

Herman holds a Bachelor of Law from Burundi University and a Master degree in Human Rights and Pacific Resolution of Conflicts from the UNESCO Chair, in partnership with the Burundi, Brussels and Namur Universities.

Above: Herman advocating for early access to counsel at Burundi 2009 training. (Photo by Sanjeewa Liyanage)

Above: Herman preparing a case with his clients in Bubanza, Burundi (Photo by Claire Habimana)