Court clears 34 accused of Teza tea factory massacre

Following a month-long trial, from 2 to 28 May, a Bujumbura criminal court declared innocent 34 alleged leaders of a July 1996 attack on a tea factory in Burundi’s Teza region, Muramvya Province, that left about 100 dead, the local news agency Net Press reported on Thursday.

News agencies and human rights groups at the time reported that a large number of Hutu rebels had attacked the plant, killing mainly Tutsis. The factory, six administrative buildings, 20 trucks and large quantities of tea were destroyed by fire.

Soon after the massacre, the army reportedly retaliated in the Bukeye and Kiganda areas, killing at least 500 people, according to Amnesty International. It called on all parties to the conflict in Burundi to take immediate measures to prevent killings of unarmed and defenceless civilians, to exercise restraint and to take steps to prevent reprisal killings.