Officials from the Ministry of Justice and local leaders in the Eastern Province have commended the activities of Abunzi or mediators in addressing conflicts.

This was during a one day consultative meeting in Rwamagana District convened to prepare elections of new Mediation Committees in the Province.

The meeting attracted officials from the Ministry of justice and National Electoral Commission (NEC), and local leaders.

The Abunzi forum is part of the Rwandan justice system, whose restorative approach helps people to address conflicts without resorting to litigation and other retributive approaches.

NEC Executive Secretary, Charles Munyaneza said the election of the new Committees was scheduled on July 25.

Munyaneza said the mediators will be elected by the Cell and Sector Councils for a renewable term of five years.

"There will be election of the Mediation Committee at the Cell and Sector level…it is headed by a bureau composed of a president and a vice-president elected by their peers,” he said.

Odette Yankurije, the head of Access to Justice Services department at the Ministry of justice, said the work of Abunzi for the last 11 years was commendable.

"Abunzi have managed to resolve cases out of court. The committees are in touch with realities on the ground. They thus offer solutions based on evidence,” she said.

Yankurije cited recent Rwanda Governance Board research findings that showed that the Abunzi committees were popular among citizens.

At least 81 per cent of the population like the committees, 76 per cent say they were a success, while 75 per cent like the justice system, according to the report.

Citizens experiencing legal issues used to report to Abunzi cases whose worth do not exceed Rwf3 million, but this time they will go up to Rwf5 million, Johnston Busingye, the Minister for Justice and Attorney General, said last week.

Odette Uwamariya, the Governor of the Eastern Province, reiterated the importance of the committees, saying they eased the work of local leaders.

She said 86 per cent of civil cases in Eastern province were successfully managed by the committees.

"This has helped local administrators,” she said.

Mediation Committees comprise people of high integrity, responsible for ensuring that disputes are settled amicably within the communities.

The committees are based at the cell and sector levels.

Since 2012, at least 30,768 people served as Abunzi countrywide.

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