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For immediate publication
3 September 2026
Wales, United Kingdom
AfricanIndependence.com is publishing the following statement concerning an incident involving an independent project promoting Burundi internationally.
Remo Kurka, publisher of BurundiVibes.com, says he was left outside the Embassy of the Republic of Burundi in Berlin on Thursday, 3 September 2026, after arriving for a 3:00 PM appointment personally given to him by Burundi's Ambassador, H.E. Annonciata Sendazirasa, the previous day.
Kurka's attempts to establish contact with the Embassy date back to 1 December 2025, when he first telephoned the Embassy from Ghana.
On 10 December 2025, he registered the BurundiVibes.com domain and sent his first written message to the Embassy.
According to Kurka, further attempts to establish communication followed over the subsequent months, including indications that he would receive a callback.
On 2 September 2026, Kurka finally met the Ambassador personally at the Embassy in Berlin.
During that meeting, the Ambassador gave him an appointment for 3:00 PM on 3 September 2026 to return and explain the BurundiVibes project.
Kurka arrived at the agreed time.
According to his account, nobody opened the Embassy door and his telephone calls were not answered. He subsequently left a written message addressed to the Ambassador at the Embassy.
The incident occurred during the Embassy's published normal opening hours. The Embassy's new official website currently states opening hours of Monday to Friday, 07:00–16:30.
Kurka emphasizes that his criticism concerns the communication process and not Burundi or its people.
> “I created BurundiVibes because I believe Burundi has enormous potential and deserves much more international attention. My criticism is not directed at Burundi. It concerns the way this communication process has been handled.”
Kurka says that he had even planned to link BurundiVibes to the Embassy's new official website as a courtesy, providing visitors with direct access to official Burundian diplomatic information.
A project intended to promote Burundi
BurundiVibes.com was established in December 2025 as an independent website dedicated to presenting Burundi internationally, including its tourism, history, culture, destinations and visual identity.
Kurka says he remains willing to cooperate with Burundian institutions.
“If the Embassy does not wish to cooperate with me, I can accept that,” he said. “But an appointment should either be honoured or cancelled. After months of trying to establish communication, being given an appointment by the Ambassador herself and then arriving to find nobody answering the door is extremely disappointing.”
Kurka says he has left a written message for the Ambassador and remains willing to receive an explanation from the Embassy.
Related article
Full open letter from BurundiVibes.com:
[Read the BURUNDIVIBES OPEN LETTER]
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AfricanIndependence.com
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Wales, United Kingdom