Burundi: Verdict in activist's killing fails to deliver justice

The verdict on 22 May 2012, in the trial of those accused of killing Ernest Manirumva, a Burundian anti-corruption activist, has been a missed opportunity to deliver justice, 20 Burundian and international nongovernmental organizations said today in a joint statement. The outcome was a grave disappointment to those who have campaigned for his killers to be held to account, as potentially important evidence in the case was not pursued. Manirumva had been investigating several sensitive cases at the time of his killing in 2009, including allegations of large-scale police corruption and illegal weapons purchases. 'The Public Prosecutor willfully ignored calls to investigate senior figures within the Burundian security services and national police who may have been involved in the killing of Manirumva,' said Hassan Shire Sheikh, executive director of the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project.