Italian Police Crack Burundi Nun Murder Cold Case

Italian authorities have apprehended a 50-year-old Burundian national, Guillaume Harushimana, implicated in the 2014 murders of three Italian missionary nuns in Bujumbura. Prosecutors in Parma allege Harushimana was instrumental in instigating, organizing, and supporting the killings of Sisters Olga Rachietti, Lucia Pulici, and Bernadetta Boggian. These tragic events occurred on September 7-8, 2014, in two separate incidents. The murders are believed to have been ordered by General Adolphe Nshimirimana, who headed Burundi's secret police at the time and was himself assassinated in 2015.

Investigators suspect the nuns may have been targeted due to their refusal to aid Burundian militias in Congo, disputes over youth center funding, or even ritualistic motives. While four individuals were initially suspected of carrying out the attacks, with some making confessions or partial admissions, a significant breakthrough came in 2024. Italian prosecutors revived the investigation based on new leads from a book by investigative journalist Giusy Baioni. This reopened inquiry incorporated testimonies previously overlooked by Burundian authorities, leading to Harushimana's recent arrest.

Harushimana's name had previously surfaced in relation to the murders. He had traveled to Italy on a visa in 2018 for a training course in Parma, where he was questioned but denied involvement. At that time, he claimed to have been outside Burundi during the murders, providing passport stamps as alibi evidence. The current investigation aims to definitively establish his role and bring closure to the decade-old case.