Mixed reactions as Gacaca Courts near closure

As the conclusion of Gacaca Courts draws nearer, there are emerging concerns from the public, contesting the jurisprudence in some of the traditional court sessions in dispensing justice satisfactorily. An interview with Assumpta Umurungi, the Executive Secretary of Avega the umbrella association of genocide widows, revealed that the association, was dealing with many cases of their members , who had not been served with justice to their satisfaction. Many are pointing out irregularities which flawed the process of justice dispensation . “We have received many complaints from our members airing out grievances on how they were not served justly in Gacaca courts and thus not healing nor reconciling,” said Umurungi. She also attributed the irregularities in Gacaca Courts to failure in addressing the problem of perpetrators and their family members who have intertwined themselves in the Gacaca judicial system. “Due to the difficulty involved in selecting the prudent people to handle cases in the Gacaca setting, perpetrators or members of their families have found their way into the system there by manipulating the system,” Umurungi said. On the extent to which Gacaca courts have satisfactorily dispensed justice to the genocide widows under AVEGA, Umurungi told The New Times that in percentage terms, they would put it at 30 percent. This comes at a time when the Ombudsman report released recently exposed that among the corruption cases identified, 50 percent of them were from Gacaca courts. This highlights the concern that the unprecedented traditional courts have only dispensed justice to a certain extent. In a seperate telephone interview, Theodore Simburudari, the president of Ibuka the umbrella association for genocide survivors, said Ibuka is waiting for the overall evaluation of the Gacaca Courts which will be done at the final completion of the process. “We are waiting for the final evaluation of the whole process upon completion, that’s when we shall find out the extent to which Gacaca has delivered justice,” explained Simburudari. Asked about claims by some survivors that the Gacaca process has been to a certain extent flawed, Simburudari acknowledged that some observations were credible. “Some of the allegations regarding flawed judgments and manipulation in the execution of justice in some Gacaca courts are true. Some allegations are based on evidence presented by the complainants,” he added. In an earlier interview with Domitille Mukantaganzwa, the Secretary General of Gacaca, she said everything was on the right track to ensure that the deadline of completion is met.She also revealed that cases on appeal and revision would be concluded by the end of June this year. “We are meeting in all sectors and listening to them. If they have any dissatisfaction over cases tried in the past, we solve this,” said Mukantaganzwa. According to Emerita Mukarusagara, the advocacy assistant at AVEGA, many rape cases have hit a dead end because those who witnessed the rape, are reluctant to testify, against their friends. Ends

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Mixed reactions as Gacaca Courts near closure