CAT/C/60/D/579/2013
exposed, particularly as a result of having lodged the present complaint, and to keep the
Committee informed of the measures taken to that end.
The facts as submitted by the complainant
2.1
The complainant resides in the commune of Gihosha, in Bujumbura Mairie. Her
daughter, C.N., is a pupil at Gasenyi II primary school. She was 9 years old at the time of
the events.
2.2
On 30 June 2012, Captain D.K. 1 was conducting night patrols in the northern
districts of the capital. During his shift, and as he was a friend of the complainant’s husband,
the captain went to the complainant’s home and as usual was received by the family. The
child knew the serviceman as well. The complainant’s husband was not at home that night.
Captain D.K. said that he wished to leave, and he asked the complainant to allow her
daughter, C.N., to accompany him. The complainant refused, as it was late and she did not
want her daughter to leave the home at such a late hour. She offered to escort the captain
home herself, but he refused. The complainant then returned to the kitchen to finish
cooking the meal. A few minutes later, she called her daughter to request assistance, but
found that her daughter was no longer home.
2.3
When the complainant went out to look for her daughter, she learned from her
neighbours that they had seen C.N. leaving with Captain D.K. The complainant then rushed
out to the main road, but she did not see anyone there. The serviceman was a friend of the
family. She thought her daughter would soon return, so she went home, where she had left
her other young children.
2.4
When her husband returned late that night and her daughter had still not returned,
the complainant informed her husband of the situation. Her husband reassured her. They
decided to wait for their daughter to come home, as they had no telephone and it was
already late. The girl eventually returned home the next day.
2.5
Several days later, C.N. explained that when she had left the family home with
Captain D.K., they first went to the home of the serviceman’s in-laws, where he had drunk
a beer. They eventually arrived at the serviceman’s house around 11 p.m. Everyone was
asleep when they arrived, except the signals officer, who was in a parked vehicle a short
distance from the front door. The captain did not use the front door, instead passing through
an alleyway leading to the kitchen. He ordered the child to sit down and he went to the
toilet. He returned after a short while, naked, and grabbed the child by the arm and stripped
off her clothes. He took a seat, forced the victim onto his lap and raped her, penetrating her
vagina. When she cried and wailed he showed her his firearm and threatened to kill her
unless she immediately stopped. The child, threatened and utterly terrified, went silent.
Captain D.K. then sent her to sleep with his own children. The captain’s wife saw her and
asked her husband why she was there.
2.6
The next day, Captain D.K. gave the child 500 Burundian francs (approximately
US$ 0.30). He warned her never to speak to anyone about what had happened, threatening
her and also her mother if she revealed their secret. He sent her home with his two children.
The little girl at first told her mother nothing, as she was afraid she would die or that
something awful would happen to her family.
2.7
A week later, though, C.N. was unable to stand up. She told her mother she had a
stomach ache. The following day, the complainant realized that her daughter had serious
problems walking. She persisted in asking what was wrong. The young girl then revealed
that she had been raped by the serviceman and begged her mother to keep quiet about it.
2.8
When the victim’s father broached the subject with Captain D.K., the captain
proposed an out-of-court settlement, whereby he would pay for the victim to remain quiet.
The complainant firmly rejected that arrangement. A serious disagreement ensued with her
husband, who was in favour of coming to terms. The complainant’s husband eventually left
the family home. The complainant was thus alone in pursuing the matter before the
domestic courts.
1
2
Represented by his full name and registration number in the original communication.
GE.17-09954