Sylvère Ntakarutimana

I am a journalist by profession, but not by training. At university, I studied history, political science, human rights, and development studies. During my doctoral studies, I worked on peace policies. I attended the University of Burundi, and after graduating in 2004, I applied for an internship in journalism. I remember writing letters of application to RTNB, RPA, and Radio Isanganiro. I was called to Isanganiro to take a test, and I was selected as one of five applicants—two women and three men.

So we started the internship. Since I hadn't been trained in journalism, it was difficult at first to understand how it all worked. You're introduced to the journalists, each of whom has their own tasks; you don't get much guidance because each journalist is constantly scrambling to complete their work, and you have to figure things out on your own to really understand how it all works. I remember we had working sessions with the director, who really introduced us to the world of journalism. He asked us to carefully observe what the journalists were doing; if we went out into the field, we had to see how the journalists gathered information, follow them through to processing and broadcasting. And I had to pay very close attention to keep up. I had asked for some documents about journalism, which were available at the radio station. Because I loved reading, every evening I took the time to read those documents to understand the theories. And the next day, I observed how the theories were put into practice. That's how I educated myself, in a way.

I felt truly immersed in the world of journalism, and I was happy about it, because since my youth, I had dreamed of being a journalist. I had this image of journalists as omniscient, as people who knew everything because they covered a little bit of everything. When I was a child, I remember we had a radio at home; it was made of wood, and my father had bought it in Tanzania. Back then, people who wanted to listen to the news would come to our house in the evenings. And when I listened to the radio, when I listened to this intellectual who spoke about all sorts of subjects, who spoke French so well, who provided such detail in his reporting, I told myself that I should be like that intellectual. I thought that if I were to embrace this profession, I would be respected in society.

So I immersed myself in the world of journalism; little by little I got used to it, there were ups and downs… Sometimes, since I didn't have a salary, it was hard to make ends meet. Isanganiro gave us travel expenses calculated based on bus fares. If you didn't have family to support you, it wasn't easy to make ends meet. I told myself, “It's a bit demanding, but I have to get through the internship, until the end, if only to get a certificate. It might be a first step towards gaining professional experience”. After the four-month internship, I wasn't hired immediately. So I asked to extend it—a way to further develop my skills. I ended up spending eight months in that world. But during the second part of the internship, I was even given the opportunity to produce some programs and read the newspaper. I did a bit of everything.

It wasn't always easy. When you're an intern, there are journalists who don't want to help you. Some nitpick, others try to make you feel worthless… and you have to persevere. In terms of programming, I also had to prove that I was capable of producing a show. When they evaluated the first program I produced, on law and society, a program funded by RCN Justice et Démocratie,* they said, “We were missing a good journalist. He's the one who will continue producing this program”. It was from that moment on that I was given a permanent position as head of production for that show. When I had to produce a program or a news segment, I strove to do it as well as possible, and it paid off. It really helped me establish myself in a short amount of time.

Also, since I listened to foreign radio stations, like the BBC and RFI, I had certain references I drew inspiration from, particularly in news presentation. There was a certain Laurent Sadoux at RFI; when he presented the news, he always started with the weather, then moved on to the headlines, that is, the summary, and then he elaborated. Afterwards, he finished with a kind of humour. He said that you should always keep smiling, that every second is a lifetime. Oh, I loved the way he presented! And at Isanganiro, I tried a little bit to imitate him. I liked him very much. Perhaps my French wasn't as good as his, but he was someone who inspired me a great deal. There was also a certain Alain Foka, on the “Archives d'Afrique” [= “African archives”]. I sensed the programs were very thorough! And then, when I started working on the shows, especially the ones about law, I absorbed a lot of information. The first program I had to produce was about pretrial detention. It was a topic that required knowledge of certain legal concepts, particularly criminal procedure; you had to know how pretrial detention is regulated by law, what the powers of judges, prosecutors, and police officers are… I read up on all of that. When I hosted the show, I asked specific questions regarding legal provisions. And RCN liked that. But there was a lot of work involved beforehand: reading legal texts. As I hosted the show, people started calling me “the radio lawyer”! At the time, I wasn't a lawyer, but I read a lot of legal texts, I went to court to observe how trials unfolded, to the courthouse… And later in my career, when I had the opportunity to advise a journalist working on a program, I would tell them: “Don't go on air before doing your research. You have to organize your research, read, reread. And approach a program with a topic you know well. Because even the listener can tell when you ask a question that is or isn't well-researched”.

After my eight-month internship at Isanganiro, I got a volunteer contract. As a volunteer, they recognize some of your journalistic skills, even if they don't have enough resources to hire you as a staff member. And you receive a stipend that's still more than the amount of money you get as an intern, which is limited to travel expenses. I worked three months as a volunteer, then I got a freelance contract. That's when I worked like crazy. Because as a freelancer, you're paid per assignment. You can actually make a decent amount of money, sometimes even more than someone employed full-time. If you're able to produce several programs, host on-air shows, read the newspaper, and if you're in good health, you can make some money. About six months later, I was offered a contract as a radio employee. I hesitated because, in terms of earnings, I would lose money. It was at that point that I was offered another contract at RCN Justice et Démocratie. Their communications officer had been appointed to a government position, and since they knew me and how I worked, they asked if I could take the job. I was a little undecided, but I thought to myself, “After almost four years in Isanganiro, should I continue working for a low salary there when I'm going to have a good salary at RCN?”. And in May 2007, I said goodbye to Isanganiro.

At RCN, I dabbled in journalism, because RCN had contracts with radio stations and I was responsible for overseeing the radio productions they financed. If a journalist did a poor job, it was my job to step in and fix the problem. There was a program I was already producing in Isanganiro, called “Give Me Justice”—in Kirundi, it was called Ntunganiriza. In fact, I acquired that nickname at Isanganiro; they called me Ntunganiriza because I was the main producer of the program for almost two and a half years, so I was associated with it. Other programs aired on other radio stations; they were programs about the history of justice in Burundi. These were really programs that delved into conflict resolution: we analysed how the justice system had functioned, what had been lacking, and so on.

I spent about five years at RCN. Afterwards, I thought, “I'm almost stuck in a routine; I need a change”. I went to work for a collective of civil society organizations called FORSC [= Forum for Strengthening Civil Society] as a local expert on transitional justice. At RCN, there were also aspects of transitional justice that I was involved in; there was a transitional justice think tank in Bujumbura that brought together international and local NGOs, and most of the time, I was the one representing RCN Justice et Démocratie at the meetings. After almost two years at FORSC, I think in September 2013, I moved up: I became the executive director of COSOME, the Civil Society Coalition for Electoral Monitoring. It was a coalition that brought together about ten civil society organizations – including FORSC, the Observatory of Government Action (OAG), and the CEJP – Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace, which brought together all the Catholic parishes of Burundi. Then 2015 arrived, with all that we experienced. And at the end of my contract, at the end of July 2015, I didn't renew it. That's when I returned to NGOs. I worked for seven months as Country Program Manager for a British peacebuilding NGO called CORD [= Christian Outreach Relief and Development]. But I didn't stay there very long because the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was looking for me. I became Senior Advisor in charge of planning and communication at the TRC. There, I finally reconnected with the media. I was responsible for planning all of the TRC's activities and its communication.

I worked at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) from 2016 to 2017, when I resigned to take over as director of Radio Isanganiro. At the TRC, I encountered a work culture different from that of NGOs and the media, to which I was accustomed. And I felt that my potential wasn't being utilised. So, when the opportunity arose, I applied for the directorship of Radio Isanganiro. There, I rediscovered journalism, which I had left long ago, even though I had always remained in contact with the media. But this time, it wasn't to practice journalism as a reporter, but to manage a media outlet.

It was very different. I had to be the guardian of the editorial line, meaning I had to monitor everything that was produced, whether it was the newspaper or the program, because if anything went wrong, I was the first one to answer for it. I was always in contact with the authorities and I had to ensure that journalists strictly adhered to press laws. There was a great deal of attention paid to all of that. Sometimes, I had to tell journalists that we were off-topic, or that we absolutely had to follow the proper procedures. I must say that if I hadn't mastered the journalistic aspects, the legal aspects, and if I hadn't had good contacts with the authorities, it would have been very difficult for me to manage.

I came as director after a serious crisis, that of 2015, when some media outlets, including Isanganiro, were destroyed and shut down. I arrived just as the radio station had reopened. Everything had to be rebuilt. Institutionally, as well as in terms of journalists' motivation; we had to boost their morale so they could overcome this state of... paranoia, so to speak, that they were in – journalists had to be constantly cautious and, to some extent, self-censor. I must say that sometimes they felt a kind of threat even though there was practically no need for self-censorship. It was as if there was a sword of Damocles constantly hanging over the journalists' heads. So, the work became rather complicated. There was also information that was leaked that caused insecurity among the journalists. Sometimes, we had to manage these situations with the public authorities, the intelligence services, and the National Human Rights Commission. We also had to manage our interactions with the National Communication Council, which sometimes sent us warnings and summonses. For this, we always had to be present and stand firm.

I also acted as, let's say, an advocate for my journalists. Every time I was in front of the authorities, I had to speak in a way that still defended them. I remember that when journalists had problems with the administration within the provinces, I had to be at the forefront of defending them and know how to speak with the governor. Sometimes, I even organized field visits to meet with provincial governors and administrators. And sometimes, when I met them, I didn't miss the opportunity to be a little demanding. It was also a way to reassure them, to tell them that we weren't enemies and that they needed to genuinely collaborate with the journalists. And each time, we advised the journalists to introduce themselves to the authorities once they arrived in the province, if only to tell them: “We are here, we are under your responsibility. If anything happens to us, be on your guard, you will have to explain why it happened to us”. And that's how we were able to operate.

At Isanganiro, after the radio station's premises were destroyed in 2015, we continued to produce some online articles, mainly for people who read the news via the Internet. It was after the radio station reopened in 2016 that we really started operating again. At that point, since the staff was somewhat reduced, and production wasn't as efficient, some journalists who had been obliged to stay home because of the crisis were asked to return to work. We also had to recruit other journalists because some had fled. Most had remained in Burundi, but it was simply difficult to bring them all back at once because the station didn't have the resources. But little by little, they returned. And we filled the gaps through recruitment. I think that during the five or six years I spent at Isanganiro, there were roughly eight waves of recruitment. We organized several training sessions; we bought the equipment, little by little… and the reconstruction could take place. We really got the institution back on track.

I remained at the helm of Isanganiro for almost six years, until May 2023. I resigned for entirely personal reasons; my doctoral studies were also taking up a great deal of my time. To truly make progress on my doctorate, I had to resign. Furthermore, my absences during my doctoral research stays in Europe caused some internal tensions. Managing such an important media outlet remotely was very difficult. At the same time, I had to teach at the University of Burundi. It was a sort of requirement for doctoral students. And I found it was truly too much for me. I thought to myself, “Logically, I have to resign”. So, I turned the page on my media career. In the meantime, Isanganiro had become a radio and television station, and I am delighted to have contributed to its creation. This was one of the objectives I announced when I took over the radio station. And after almost two years of running the television station, I said goodbye. I wasn't able to achieve another objective I had, which was to build a dedicated headquarters for Radio-Television Isanganiro. I hope my successors will be able to do so.