Foreign students on study tour

A group of university students from various countries currently visiting Rwanda has hailed the country’s judicial system and the progress made only 18 years after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsis.

Friday, August 03, 2012
Some of the visiting students who called on the Minister of Justice Tharcisse Karugarama at his office in Kigali yesterday. The New Times / Timothy Kisambira.

A group of university students from various countries currently visiting Rwanda has hailed the country’s judicial system and the progress made only 18 years after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsis.The students are from Canada, United Kingdom, the USA, Canada and Slovakia.While paying a courtesy call on the Minister of Justice, Tharcisse Karugarama, Kirsten Stefanik, a law student at the University of British Columbia in Canada, said they decided to visit the country to learn from its history and its rebuilding process. "I’m very excited about the justice system in Rwanda, especially the Gacaca system as it has played a key role in bringing about reconciliation and unity and providing justice at the same time,” she said.  She added that they were impressed to see that Rwanda has managed to build a functioning and strong judicial system, saying it was a major accomplishment that should not only be recognised in Africa but globally.Mark Dempsey from the University of California said before coming to Rwanda, the information they had about the country was based on books, noting that the visit has enabled them to understand facts on the ground."Basing on what I have seen, I believe Rwanda is on the right track in as far as development is concerned because the country is developing despite the poor history it went through,” Dempsey noted.He added that they would encourage more students from California to visit Rwanda which he said would assist them to get best practices on good governance, peace, unity and reconciliation.Karugarama, briefed them on the country’s history, especially the Genocide, and how it was stopped.