Gabby Bugaga, Burundi’s minister of communication and media, is reported to have died in a car accident, according to local reports Thursday, though authorities had not yet issued an official statement.
Bugaga served as minister of communication and media in Burundi’s current government. Details of the reported accident including its timing and possible casualties remain unclear. But local sources said that the reported accident happened on the road from Bujumbura to Bubanza.
Bugaga was appointed to the post as part of a cabinet reshuffle in 2025 under President Évariste Ndayishimiye, in a streamlined government structure that reduced the number of ministries.
As communications minister, he has been responsible for overseeing government media policy, public information dissemination and relations with both state and private media outlets.
Local media and social media accounts have circulated reports of his death, but no confirmation has been issued by the government as of Thursday morning in Bujumbura.
The Burundian government typically announces the death of senior officials through formal communiqués.
This is a developing story.
