Free legal services paying off

When Alex Mugire had a misunderstanding with his neighbour over land demarcation before the land registration process, it resulted into a serious grudge to the extent that the two families never cooperated again – even during hard times. Mugire, a resident of Remera Sector, Kicukiro District, says the two families were involved in land wrangles for about three years as none of them took the initiative to report the issue to relevant authorities. “I decided to keep quiet but this did not mean that I had completely given up. I was just looking for enough money to take the matter to courts of law,” says Mugire. According to the 50-year-old, land issues should never be taken lightly. As long as they are not solved, he argues, they stay in people’s minds forever. One day, Mugire attended a hearing by local mediators – commonly known as Abunzi – who amicably solved a land dispute in the area. It was then that he decided that it was time now for him to report his case as well. The two parties were summoned and their case was dealt with in the presence of all other residents who also served as witnesses. The Abunzi subsequently solved the Mugire and his neighbour’s land dispute. Mugire’s case is just one of several land disputes Abunzi have helped solve. Operating under the Ministry of Justice, the Abunzi are elected from their respective communities and trained in legal matters so that they can freely handle minor legal cases in their communities to avoid or reduce on the number of minor cases being taken to courts of law. In a survey that was conducted by Rwanda Initiative for Sustainable Development (RISD) between 2010 and 2012 in ten districts, 6,000 land-related unsolved disputes were identified. RISD is a local nongovernmental ogranisation which, among other things, helps local communities solve land disputes. To achieve its goals, the organisation liaises with various government institutions, including the Ombudsman’s office, Rwanda Natural Resource Authority (RNRA) and the Justice Ministry among others. According to the organisation’s boss, Annie Kairaba, liaising with these institutions helps them avoid duplication of work. Kairaba says that in the districts where the survey was conducted, some of the unsolved cases that were identified were a result of inefficiency. The survey was conducted in the districts of Muhanga, Nyaruguru, Musanze, Kamonyi and Kirehe. Others were Kayonza, Kicukiro Karongi, Gasabo, and Rubavu. “In addition to intensifying training for the Abunzi through training more trainers of trainees, we are also considering distributing materials that will enable these people to effectively carry out their respective responsibilities professionally,” Kairaba says. Recently, over 20 trainers of trainees were trained by RISD and sent to ten districts. This is part of the three-year programme the organisation is implementing with support from the Netherlands government through the Netherlands Embassy in Kigali. It is being implemented in collaboration with CLADHO, which is the umbrella body of local Human Rights organisations. Kairaba is optimistic that the land registration exercise is such a perfect initiative that will help give locals ownership of their land. However, she avers that there is need for stakeholders to come up with mechanisms of solving problems that might also arise from the benefits that come with legal ownership of land. She insists that Rwandans have now realised that through owning land, there are many opportunities that can easily transform their lives unlike before. Among others, Kairaba points out access to loans from institutions. Until 2004 when the government enacted the Organic Law on Land, there was no proper land policy, meaning that land was owned by the government. However, the Organic Law on Land grants a safe and stable form of land tenure and gives the public an opportunity to enjoy their legal rights after registration. Anastase Balinda, the National Coordinator of the Abunzi Secretariat, says training programmes to empower the Abunzi will supplement efforts by the government to have the committees perform even better. He observes that giving free legal services has helped the public – especially those in rural areas – avoid incurring unnecessary expenses in cases that could otherwise be solved without necessarily going to courts of law.