Clerics, academics train in mediation

Over 1,000 church leaders, lawyers and law students drawn from various institutions over the weekend completed training in conflict mediation.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Over 1,000 church leaders, lawyers and law students drawn from various institutions over the weekend completed training in conflict mediation.The training was organised by the Bible Society of Rwanda (BSR), a forum launched last year to mentor future leaders.It is part of a programme aimed at equipping participants with biblical knowledge of leadership, ethics and moral standards.Speaking to The New Times, Dr Aggée Shyaka Mugabe of the political science department at the National University of Rwanda, said the main objective of the training was to mentor participants in conflict mediation as they are agents of influence and change.He said that all leaders should understand the laws that govern the country and the process of mediation since they interact with members of society more often. "We are also doing this also to support government programmes on good governance and leadership,”he noted. The president of Rwanda Christian Advocate Forum, Sophonie Sebaziga, explained that they decided to train the group because they play a key role in society. Sebaziga emphasised that lawyers and church leaders have a great role to play in assisting the government in advancing unity and reconciliation.