Burundi: Nine dead and eight injured in a stampede at an evangelical gathering

A stampede in Bujumbura, Burundi, on Saturday, July 18, 2026, left eight dead and nine injured, according to a police report. The incident occurred late in the evening, at the end of an evangelical gathering led by Burundian preacher Chris Ndikumana.

In the footage filmed at night on Saturday, July 18, 2026, in Bujumbura, during the sermon of Chris Ndikumana, a Burundian evangelical preacher followed by more than a million people on YouTube, a huge crowd surrounds the stage.

In the local press this Monday, a teacher from the Kamenge technical school, where the ceremony took place, recounts the tragedy he witnessed, in which eight people died according to the police. "There were so many people, and everyone wanted to leave at the same time at the end of the event. It was late, there was a stampede, and people were trampled," he says.

The preacher offers his condolences to the families

Initially, the organizers of this prayer crusade, called "Kanguka, Wake Up," did not react. It was the preacher who finally spoke out on Monday via his social media. "Some were injured, others unfortunately lost their lives. This has deeply saddened us. We offer our condolences to the families who have lost their loved ones," stated Chris Ndikumana.

The preacher, popular far beyond Burundi - for example he gathered 30,000 people in Abidjan in 2024 - is followed by 1.3 million people on his YouTube channel.

When contacted, particularly to find out if an investigation had been opened, the security forces have not yet responded.