Your story on Abunzi left a lot to be desired

Editor,I read the story, “Local mediators continue to harness sanity in land disputes” (The New Times, November 20), but found it hard to understand some of the pressing issues in the local mediation system.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Editor,I read the story, "Local mediators continue to harness sanity in land disputes” (The New Times, November 20), but found it hard to understand some of the pressing issues in the local mediation system.The story did not tell us what became of Emmanuel Niyitegeka after he lost the appeal. Also, the Abunzi’s choice to use testimonies of people whom we don’t know if they were witnesses on the sale of the land by Niyitegeka’s uncle to Mukeshimana’s father in January 1993 raises more questions than it answers.  Furthermore, why is it that the nephew is fighting for this piece of land? Where is his father? Where is Mukeshimana’s father? Isn’t he the one that everyone would be dealing with together with Niyitegeka’s uncle?Since there is no written agreement of transaction between the above-mentioned father and uncle, then, it is a case of Mukeshimana’s words against Niyitegeka’s. So far, no one has talked about the witnesses from Nitegeka’s side.If we were to speculate, then there is also a probability that Mukeshimana caused the said witnesses to back her narrative given the fact that Niyitegeka was absent between 1994 and 1998.I would also like to ask if there is no documented proof of the ownership of this piece of land. Are you telling me that in 1993 there were not title deeds given to land owners in Rwanda?Alex Mumama, South Africa