A fter Gacaca, judicial courts to take over

KIGALI - When the Gacaca court mandate ends, the rest of the Genocide cases will be tried by conventional judicial courts. This was revealed Friday by the Executive Secretary of Gacaca courts, Domitilla Mukantaganzwa. She said that many Genocide suspects are still at large even in some refugee camps in neighbouring countries. Her comments came days after UNHCR and media reports indicated that about 20 refugees fled their camps in Uganda for fear of being repatriated back home and tried for their role in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Those who are said to have escaped had been living in Urukinga, Nakivale, Nshungerezi, Cyaka I and Cyaka II camps in Uganda. Mukantaganzwa said that most of the refugees resisting repatriation have already been tried by Gacaca courts. She also revealed that some escaped from Rwanda as soon as their trials started in the Gacaca courts. “But when the Gacaca courts end, these people will be tried by other competent courts.” Veronica Gaeille, an official with UNHCR based in Mbarara, western Uganda, said in an interview that many refugees fronted numerous excuses in order not to be repatriated. “They say they have to wait until harvest season ends. They also want to come back after the schools have closed,” Gaeille said. Some returnees alleged that local Ugandan officials were aiding the refugees to forge documents in order to become Ugandan citizens. The decision to repatriate the refugees was reached recently during a tripartite meeting between the two governments of Uganda and Rwanda and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). The government registered 284 returnees in the Tuesday and Thursday repatriation exercises. Ends