The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon last week appointed Christopher Bongani Majola as the new Registrar of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. According to a UN statement Majola’s mandate is due to commence effective January 1, 2013 for a term of four years or until the closure of the tribunal. Majola, a South African, replaces Senegalese Adama Dieng, who was appointed by Ban as his Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide. "He holds an L.L.B from the University of Zululand in South Africa and an L.L.M from Harvard University in the U.S. Prior to accepting the position of ICTR Deputy Prosecutor, which he has held since January 2003, Majola served as the Executive Director of the Legal Research Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa,” reads a statement from Ki-Moon’s office. Majola also served as Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Limpopo."The President of the Tribunal Judge Vagn Joensen has congratulated Majola and stated that he is looking forward to working with him closely in his new role,” adds the statement. Joensen is quoted saying that he is confident that Majola’s pre-eminent experience will be a great asset to the Tribunal during this important phase of the ICTR mandate as it nears closure.Majola becomes the fourth registrar of the Tribunal since it was established 18 years ago to prosecute key perpetrators of the 1994 genocide of Tutsis in Rwanda.