Only 2,261 Gacaca cases remain

KIGALI - As the National Gacaca Courts Service prepares to close shop in February next year, a senior official has said that up to 2,261 cases still stand in the way to its winding up. Gacaca courts are semi traditional courts that were introduced after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsis to deal with over a million cases of persons suspected of taking part in the Genocide. In a presentation made during the closure of the Unity and Reconciliation week at Kigali Serena hotel yesterday, the service’s head of Legal Affairs, Gratien Dusingizimana, expressed optimism that the backlog would be cleared before Gacaca’s closure next year. “We expect that by the end of this month, that backlog of cases (2,261) will have gone down substantially. This number is not worrying us at all,” Dusingizimana told an audience that included heads of diplomatic missions and members of Rwanda’s Diaspora network. Over one million cases have been completed by Gacaca, although officials at the meeting said that the true figure would be availed in a report to be released in February. Of all the country’s five provinces, the Southern Province stands out with the biggest number of cases yet to be completed (967) while the Northern Province has the least with 77. Dusingizimana attributed the big number in the Southern Province to the fact that there was lack of cooperation from the people in the process of gathering information on Genocide suspects. The completion strategy, Dusingizimana, added, has so far seen Gacaca closing its operations in 160 sectors countrywide, out of 416 sectors. Gacaca officials and those from the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC) unanimously agreed that Genocide ideology still remains a major stumbling block. The Gacaca justice process has gained international reputation for effectively administering justice and thereby ending the impunity gap that had been created after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsis. Ends