Burundi: rapper Olegue imprisoned because of a song described as "blasphemous"

Olegue, a Burundian rapper, was imprisoned by the authorities of his country because of a song deemed "blasphemous".

(illustration) © iStock/caesargfx

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Olegue, a rising star of Burundian rap, was imprisoned on Wednesday April 27 in the central prison of Bujumbura, after two weeks in police custody.

Justice accuses this young 20-year-old rapper, who likes to break the codes and sings raw in a very Christian society and very attached to traditions, a video deemed " 

 " for the Catholic Church and contrary " 

 ".

This is not the first time that he has been in the crosshairs of the authorities.

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Two years ago,

, better known by his simple first name Olegue, narrowly escaped prison.

At the time, he had spent a week in a cell of a police station for his clip "General Delegate", a song where he spoke crudely about prostitution and the use of drugs in colleges and high schools in the country.

Accused of being a promoter of " 

 ", Olegue was finally released after presenting his apologies to the Burundian people in front of the entire press.

But impossible to escape this time, after the publication in early April of a promotional video for his Easter concert.

We see him made up as a Catholic prelate with, at his side, a girl in a nun's costume who wiggles her posterior.

Olegue calls on the public to come in large numbers to see " 

 ", while patting the girl's behind.

The Web then ignites.

Some speak of blasphemy, of sacrilege.

Others see it as a provocative gesture because the very religious President of Burundi,

, has just returned from Rome where he first met

.

The young rapper is being prosecuted, according to a judicial source, for " 

 ", an offense punishable by a simple fine under the Burundian penal code.

But the order to lock him up would have come from above, according to our sources.

On Wednesday, one of the Head of State's advisers warned an Internet user who had come to his defense on Twitter.

“ 

 ,” he said.

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