The arrest follows a recent operation in which 14 tons of coffee were seized at the Kobero border, a legal trade route between Burundi and Tanzania.
Investigators believe the shipment was ultimately intended for Rwanda. According to sources cited by SOS Médias Burundi, SNR agents were dispatched to Ngozi to arrest Colonel Ndoreraho.
Upon hearing about the planned arrest, he is said to have gone into hiding. In response, authorities reportedly detained his wife in an attempt to pressure her into disclosing his location.
After several days on the run, Colonel Ndoreraho is said to have voluntarily turned himself in to SNR agents on November 3, 2025, and was then taken to Bujumbura for further interrogation.
Following his arrest, Lt Col Jean-Bosco Niyonsenga was appointed as the acting police commander for Ngozi. Colonel Ndoreraho remains in SNR custody as investigations into the alleged coffee smuggling and attempted corruption continue.
IGIHE
