Kagame Denies Rwanda Ever Agreed to Hand Over 2015 Burundi Coup Suspects
Rwandan President Paul Kagame has denied that Rwanda ever reached an agreement with Burundi to hand over people accused of involvement in Burundi’s 2015 attempted coup.
Kagame made the remarks on Monday, August 24, 2026, during a press conference with journalists in Kigali.
The issue resurfaced after Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye, in an interview with the BBC in July 2026, claimed that Rwanda had promised to extradite some of the individuals suspected of participating in the 2015 coup attempt.
Ndayishimiye said the matter had been discussed between the two countries, but that Rwanda never fulfilled what he described as its commitment.
However, Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Olivier Nduhungirehe, immediately denied that such discussions had ever taken place.
On Monday, President Kagame reaffirmed that he had never made any agreement or understanding of that nature with President Ndayishimiye.
Kagame said the only conversation he clearly remembers having with the Burundian leader focused on Burundian troops deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
He explained that he had received reports indicating that Burundian forces had entered parts of eastern DRC and raised the matter with Ndayishimiye.
According to Kagame, the Burundian president initially asked him to verify the information, but it later became clear that Burundian troops were indeed operating in the area.
The issue of individuals accused by Burundi of involvement in the 2015 coup attempt has remained one of the major points of tension affecting relations between Kigali and Gitega for years.
Burundi has long demanded that suspects linked to the failed coup—some of whom have lived or continue to live in Rwanda—be handed over to Burundian authorities.
Rwanda, however, has consistently denied ever agreeing to extradite them.
Another issue that could further strain relations between the two neighboring countries is the presence of Burundian troops in eastern DRC, where both Rwanda and Burundi have overlapping security concerns and strategic interests.
