Western province RUBAVU — The executive secretary of the National Service of Gacaca Courts, Domitille Mukantagazwa, has asked local leaders not to meddle in the work of Gacaca judges.She said that the local leaders should instead support the judges for the betterment and success of Gacaca jurisdictions.She made the remarks at a recent meeting with local leaders and Gacaca judges in Gacurabwenge cell Busesamana sector. The meeting aimed at diffusing the current stand-off between some local leaders and Gacaca judges. The judges have recently accused area local leaders of interfering with their work by using their positions to defend genocide suspects.According to John Sebikara, the sector coordinator, two local leaders of Bugarama cell whose names were not disclosed for investigation reasons, had tried to influence Gacaca Judges in their work.The local leaders allegedly tried to withdraw four files of the genocide suspects that had been forwarded from the cell to the sector level in an attempt to protect the suspects from facing trials. The judges however resisted the move and continued with the hearing of the case, convicting three out of the four suspects, while one was acquitted of genocide charges.Mukantagazwa urged the judges to expedite their work with honesty saying they [traditional judges] had full powers and were independent from any external pressure.“Local leaders should support Gacaca courts rather than being disruptive. You as local and opinion leaders should not try to interfere or block justice to some people in the name of friendship or kinship relations because the main aim of Gacaca is not for punishment but to restore Unity and reconciliation among Rwandans.” she explained. On the recent incident where property and gardens of some of the Gacaca Judges were destroyed in Bugarama cell, by unidentified people allegedly due to their [judges] hard stance during Gacaca proceedings, Mukantagazwa said that the commission will pay for all the damages. She however warned of punitive measures against people who are using such ‘ruthless’ acts to intimidate Gacaca judges. The District official in charge of good governance Martin Habimana, urged residents to respect Gacaca saying, it was the only way to unity and reconciliation. He called upon area residents to work closely with their leaders to develop their district.He noted that through decentralization residents have learnt to solve their own problems with the help of village mediators [Abunzi] who settle disputes among residents; a fact he said has saved residents the burden of seeking justice from distant district courts. Ends
