Bailiffs have been challenged to work hard and ensure court orders are executed on time to reveser the current trend that has seen delayed implementation of thousands of rulings.

The call was made, yesterday, by Justice minister Johnston Busingye as he presided over a swearing in ceremony of 117 court bailiffs in Kigali.

"There is this culture cropping up where people that lose court cases come up with all manners of excuses to delay the execution... this is done at the expense of the winning litigant, which is wrong because it delays justice,” said Busingye, who is also the Attorney-General.

The minister also urged the new bailiffs to shun bad practices that undermine the quality of judicial services.

Some of the practices he cited include deliberate undervaluing of property whose auction they preside over, saying this should stop and that they must execute their duties with utmost professionalism.

Vedaste Habimana, the president of the Association of Professional Court Bailiffs in Rwanda, tipped his new colleagues to work independently and not to submit to any form of undue pressure.

"The execution of any court ruling must be solely based on law and nothing else,” Habimana said.

The group that took oath yesterday is composed of 94 professional bailiffs and 23 non-professional court bailiffs who are mainly executive secretaries of districts, sectors and cells.

Currently, the Association of Professional Court Bailiffs boasts of over 200 members.

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