New justice minister Ugirashebuja to focus on existing legal challenges

The new Minister for Justice and Attorney General, Emmanuel Ugirashebuja, has committed to the implementation of key areas of priority in his line of duty. The minister was speaking at the handover ceremony that took place on September 23, in which his predecessor Johnston Busingye left him with a summary of pending workload. Ugirashebuja was sworn-in on Wednesday, September 22 after his appointment by President Paul Kagame. Emmanuel Ugirashebuja,the newly appointed Minister for Justice and Attorney General, delivers remarks during the handover ceremony on September23 (Photo By Craish Bahizi) Busingye was appointed Rwanda’s High Commissioner to the UK in late August. Busingye said “I have no doubt you will mobilise the relevant human and material resources to collectively stand up to the challenges.” The outlined challenges include; drug trafficking and consumption, cyber-crime, human trafficking, tracking and prosecuting genocide fugitives, genocide denial, and the implementation of the criminal justice and alternative dispute resolution policies. He also said there is need for urgent support to the Institute of Legal Practices and Development so it fully delivers on its mission. Busingye also highlighted on the necessity to digitalize more public services and consolidation of the system of asset recovery. Adding that case backlogs in courts require more of mediation than litigation. Other challenges include, the reform of the Rwanda Correctional Service, management of prison population, pre-release correction and rehabilitation of incarcerated offenders. Ugirashebuja commended the work that Busingye delivered during his period of assignment and committed to the continuity of service in the Ministry of Justice. “As a minister of justice I will use all my energy to fulfil the mission of the ministry of justice, today…we are proud of how far the ministry and country has come. A lot has been achieved under your leadership yet a lot more is awaiting to be accomplished,” he said. Ugirashebuja, who is familiar with the sector, is an expert and arbitrator in both national and international arbitration platforms after securing membership of the Governing Board of the International Association of Law Schools. Prior to his appointment, Ugirashebuja had just completed his term as the fourth president of the East African Court of Justice from 2014 to 2020. Ugirashebuja had been a judge at the Appellate Division of the EACJ before taking its presidency. He has also been the Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Rwanda from 2004 till he headed to the Arusha-based court. He holds a bachelors and Master’s degrees from the former National University of Rwanda and a PhD from the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom. Groupe photo of Staff and other officials during the handover ceremony in Kigali on 23/09/2021. / Photos by Craish Bahizi

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New justice minister Ugirashebuja to focus on existing legal challenges