Former Chief Justice, Professor Sam Rugege, has been appointed as a member of the Board of Directors of Weinstein International Foundation, a US-based non-profit organization working with Rwanda to promote mediation in dispute resolution. The appointment makes Rugege the only African on the organisation’s board. Founded by experienced dispute resolution pioneers in the U.S. and abroad, the NGO works through a global network of trained dispute resolution professionals from around the world to promote mediation and other dialogue-based dispute resolution practices in their own countries and beyond. Speaking to The New Times, Rugege said that he was privileged with the new appointment. He said: “I feel honoured to have been appointed to the board of such a non-governmental organization that is well-known globally. It is also an honour for our country.” Highlighting his work description, Rugege underscored that he will be working part-time and occasionally, together with other board members, give ideas on how particular disputes in Africa or elsewhere can be solved amicably. Rugege is currently the Chairperson of the Court Mediation Advisory Committee, a docket that adds to other top positions of the justice sector he served in for years. He among others served as Chief Justice, Deputy Chief Justice and has been a key player in the judicial sector reforms which started in 2004. What the new appointment means for Rwanda According to Rugege, the new appointment will among others “strengthen our relationship with Weinstein Foundation and further strengthen the already existing cooperation.” He said that the Weinstein Foundation is very much involved in training Rwandan judicial practitioners on how to do mediation professionally. The Foundation, he added, has been assisting our country in preparing materials like mediators’ manuals and policy documents which are giving a facelift to mediation in Rwanda. So far, there are three Rwandans associated with Weinstein and are promoting its work of mediation in Rwanda. They include Bernadette Uwicyeza who trains local mediators, Harrison Mutabazi who is the Spokesperson of the Judiciary and Anastase Nabahire who works in the Ministry of Justice. Rwanda is increasingly prioritising to solve disputes amicably as it bids to cut expenses associated with court cases, speed dispute resolution and reduce the court backlog among others. Currently, in civil cases, mediation is done by judges and registrars. In a bid to improve the mediation exercise, the government recently paved the way for private mediators to operate. The country now has 55 accredited mediators, most of whom are senior lawyers and other professionals like engineers.
