← 1971 1970 1969 1972 in Burundi → 1973 1974 1975
Decades:	1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s
See also:	Other events of 1972 List of years in Burundi

The following lists events that happened during 1972 in Burundi.

Incumbents

• President: Michel Micombero
• Prime Minister: vacant (until July 15), Albin Nyamoya (starting July 15)

Events

April

• April 29 - An uprising in Burundi by the Hutu people against the Tutsi-dominated government, began with machete attacks that killed more than 3,000 Tutsi civilians and soldiers.^[1] In the words of one observer, "the ferocity of the ensuing repression by the army was beyond imagination", with more than 100,000 Hutus being massacred over the next five months.^[2] In the genocide that followed, educated Hutu people—schoolchildren, college students, civil servants—were murdered, "especially anyone wearing glasses".^[3]

May

• May 1 - Hutu rebels set up their own short-lived, "People's Republic of Martyazo", at the Bururi Province. The Tutsi-dominated Burundian Army ended the secession movement within two weeks, before beginning the slaughter of thousands of Hutus.^[4]