Commune of Busoni

Busoni is a commune of Kirundo Province in northern Burundi. The seat lies at Busoni.

Location
The Commune of Busoni has an area of 420.9 km2 and had a population of 145,424 as of the 2008 census. It is in the north of Kirundo Province, bordering Rwanda to the north. The northeast is covered by the southern part of Lake Rweru, which extends north into Rwanda and east into the Commune of Giteranyi. Lake Kanzigiri defines the northeastern boundary with the Commune of Bwambarangwe. The settlement of Kabanga is to the west of its southern point. Akayoba Island (Île Akayoba) is in the south of the lake. The Murehe Forest is in the north of the commune. The upper part of Lake Cohoha is in the northeast. The RN 14 highway runs north through the eastern part of the commune through Gasenyi to the Rwandan border, where it becomes the NR5 highway.

Environment
The Muhere Forest is to the west of Lake Rweru and east of the RN 14 highway, which crosses into Rwanda to the north of Gasenyi. It is in the Commune of Busoni in the collines of Munazi, Kivo, Yanza, Gatete and Vyanzo. The collines of Muhere have the form of domes separated by small valleys. The highest points are 1565 m above sea level, and the lowlands are 1327 to 1343 m above sea level. The Victoria Basin forest–savanna mosaic centers around Lake Victoria and extends through parts of Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi. The portion of this ecosystem in Burundi in limited to the northeast, and includes the Ruvubu National Park and the Murehe Forest Reserve.

Lake Kanzigiri lies to the south of Lake Rweru, to which it is connected by an area of marshland. The lake covers 750 ha. Around Lake Kanzigiri there are wooded savannahs dominated by plants such as Pericopsis angolensis, Parinari curatellifolia and Hymenocardia acida, which indicate Zambezian influences. These eastern savannas are mainly found in the Ruvubu National Park, which indicates that Lake Kanzigiri and its marshes associated with it are a zone of separation between the Bugesera District and the Mosso-Malagarazi District.

Administrative divisions
The capital of the commune is at Busoni. There is a health center at Kabanga.

Busoni is divided into 42 collines, from north to south: indent=2|

Gatete

Lake Rweru

Sigu

Rwibikara

Gatare

Nyabisindu

Kivo

Kumana

Marembo

Murambi

Nyagisozi

Kigoma

Higiro

Munazi

Gitete

Muyange

Nyakizu

Ruheha

Gisenyi

Kibonde

Muvyuko

Nyabugeni

Kididiri

Burara

Karambo

Kabanga

Rugarama

Rurira

Renga

Rutabo

Mugobe

Buringa

Murore

Rurende

Kagege

Ruyaga

Munyinya

Buhimba

Gatemere

Mukerwa

Kiravumba

Runyinya

Economy
In 2008 the OPEC Fund for International Development announced a project to build a paved road running 37 km from the city of Kirundo to Gasenyi and the border with Rwanda. The project would also includes upgrades to feeder roads and social infrastructure. In 2021 and again in 2022 dozens of collines in the Bugabira, Busoni, Kirundo and Ntega communes of Kirundo experienced a shortage of rain during the period when the bean, corn and sorghum crops were flowering and ripening, affecting over 200,000 people. Many men left the affected areas in search of work, leaving the elderly, disabled, women and children behind.