Ernest Manirumva
Ernest Manirumva was the vice-president of Observatoire de lutte contre la corruption et les malversations économiques, OLUCOME (the Observatory for the Fight Against Corruption and Economic Embezzlement), a watchdog non-governmental organisation.
As a result of the refusal of President Pierre Nkurunziza to yield power and instead move to amend the Constitution and carry forth with elections that many saw as fraudulent, Burundi entered into a period of political violence and civil unrest in 2015. The targeting of human rights defenders (HRDs) through the use of violence or the threat of violence has been a worrying trend, in addition to the use of repressive legislation as a means of curtailing their work. Defamation, terrorism and anti-corruption legislation have been used against members of civil society. HRDs denouncing acts of corruption and embezzlement involving public authorities, and those fighting impunity have been subjected to judicial harassment, death threats, defamation and intimidation. HRDs denouncing extrajudicial killings have been charged with support to armed bandits.
