In Burundi, Sandra Muhoza, a journalist for the online media outlet La Nova Burundi, was sentenced to one year and nine months in prison—18 months for “attacking the integrity of the national territory” and three months for “racial hatred.” The international organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) (RSF) called the decision politically motivated and called on the Burundian justice system to overturn the sentence.
«The harsh sentence against Sandra Muhoza is the latest extreme measure by the authorities against journalists as the country heads to the parliamentary and local elections. There is no doubt that this sentence is politically motivated, given that the journalist is being persecuted for information linked to the ruling party. RSF strongly condemns this politically motivated decision and calls on the judicial authorities to immediately release journalist Sandra Muhoza», — said Sadibu Marong, RSF's sub-Saharan Africa director.
The lawyer for journalist Prosper Niyoyankana also called the sentence «an unreasonable and motivated desire to silence all those who disagree with the regime» and said he would appeal the decision.
Sandra Muhoza spread information about the government's arms distribution in a private WhatsApp group of media workers. Because of this, the prosecutor demanded a ten-year prison sentence for «undermining the integrity of the national territory» and two years for «national enmity».
The journalist has been in custody on these charges since April last year. Her trial, originally scheduled for early September, was postponed due to a lack of fuel to transport detainees from Mpimba Central Prison to court.
Sandra Muhoza is the second journalist to be sentenced in less than two years in Burundi. In January 2023, Burundian online journalist Florian Irangabie was sentenced to 10 years in prison for «undermining the integrity of the national territory of Burundi» for comments on Igicaniro radio that criticized the government. She was released in August this year after two years in prison.