Burundi’s Minister of Communication, Gabby Bugaga, was found dead in a vehicle near Bujumbura, with authorities investigating the circumstances of his death.

• Gabby Bugaga, Burundi’s Minister of Communication, was found dead in a damaged vehicle near Bujumbura, with authorities initially describing the incident as a car accident.
• Officials said the exact cause of death remains unclear, with reports noting a head injury and raising questions about the circumstances of the crash.
• Senior government and security officials visited the scene, while authorities indicated that an investigation would be conducted to determine what happened.

A Burundian minister has been killed in what the government said on Thursday was a car accident, with sources saying the cause of death was unclear and would be investigated.

Gabby Bugaga’s body was discovered in a four-by-four by farmers roughly 10 metres from a rarely used and notoriously unsafe road that winds through oil palm plantations in Kivoga, some 10 kilometres north of the economic capital, Bujumbura.

Two sources authenticated images of the body, collapsed sideways in the driving seat of the damaged car, after photos were shared on social media by local farmers who did not recognise him.

“The Government of the Republic of Burundi deeply regrets to announce....the unexpected death of the Minister of Communication and Media, Mr Gabby Buguga, which occurred at dawn on 16 April 2026, following an accident,” said government spokesperson Jerome Niyonzima in a statement.

It provided no further details.

Earlier, a police source confirmed to AFP that the body found was that of the minister.

“The cause of his death has not yet been determined,” he said, specifying that Bugaga had a “deep wound on his skull” and that the right side and rear of the vehicle were heavily damaged.

“The death of the Minister of Communication has many unanswered questions,” the police source said, noting that despite his head injury, “the cabin is intact, why there was no impact at the front of the vehicle?”.

“The government doesn’t want a scandal, it has decided to bury the case without an official investigation,” they added.

But an administrative official, who also asked for anonymity, told AFP that an investigation was under way “to determine the cause of his death”.

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Several high-ranking officials - including the Minister of the Interior and Public Security, Leonidas Ndaruzaniye, the Minister of Justice, Alfred Ahingejeje, the Attorney General, and senior security officials - were seen where the body was found on Thursday morning, the sources reported.

An ex-journalist with the Burundian National Radio and Television, Bugaga worked in the communications departments of several national institutions before being appointed to the Independent National Electoral Commission. He became Minister of Communication in 2025.