Judiciary delivered in ’09; Cyanzayire

PARLIAMENT - The Judicial sector registered massive improvements in terms of performance and reducing the huge backlog of cases as well as overhauling the aged and dilapidated infrastructure. Presenting a report on the performance of the Judiciary in 2009, the Chief Justice Aloysia Cyanzaire said that most of the targets set in 2009 were met and promised that the institution will even do better in 2010. She praised President Paul Kagame for the continued support towards building a stronger judiciary, adding that today an ordinary Rwandan is able to access justice as it has been the goal of the institution to bring the judiciary closer to the people. “Apart from coming closer to all citizens to address their legal concerns, we are now able to accord equal opportunities before the law as well as a fair trial,” said Cyanzayire who presented the report at the launch of the judicial year for 2010. She added; “For the first time, in 2009 we launched the National Judicial open week where we invite all citizens and development partners to come and assess the performance of the institution and basically have an insight into their own institution.” The report indicates that a total of 71,739 cases were completed compared to the 53,989 disposed off in 2008. She noted that there has been a decline in the number of category one cases involving rape, sexual violence and defilement which reduced by 32 percent while cases of genocide ideology and other cases involving genocide reduced by 30 percent compared to 2008. On the side of Prosecution, the Prosecutor General Martin Ngoga said that 2009 registered an upscale increase in the number of cases handled by the public prosecutions. Ngoga told the gathering that 24 indictments were issued in 13 foreign countries suspected to be harbouring Genocide fugitives, adding that a database containing files of Genocide fugitives, whose whereabouts are not known in a bid to keep the record, is in the pipeline. He however said that despite cooperation received from other countries outside Africa with regards apprehending these fugitives, African countries have not responded well. Ends