Senators clarify on retrial of Gacaca cases

There are no mass requests for retrial of Gacaca cases, members of a senatorial standing committee have said. The senators on the standing committee on political affairs and good governance, who are in the middle of a nationwide fact-finding mission, said claims that conventional courts were receiving Gacaca related appeals in large numbers were false. “It is not true, there are not so many people who are seeking retrial,” Sen. Marie Claire Mukasine said. The legislators were speaking on Tuesday during a meeting with Justice minister Johnston Businge at the Parliamentary Buildings in Kimihurura. The lawmakers made reference to the law governing cases arising from Gacaca jurisdiction which limits circumstances under which someone can appeal a Gacaca sentence in conventional courts. The government should move swiftly to address issues of unpaid damages to Genocide survivors and a wrong perception that any convict of Gacaca courts can ask for retrials of their cases, the senators said. “We want to make sure that we document the post-Gacaca’s story and resolve any pending issues,” said Senator Appolinaire Mushinzimana, the head of the senatorial committee. The committee will issue a report next month to explain the four circumstances under which Gacaca convicts can ask for retrial of their cases and how Gacaca convicts can compensate Genocide survivors. Adapted from Rwanda’s traditional mechanism of resolving conflict, Gacaca courts were used to respond to post-Genocide challenges of providing redress for victims, holding perpetrators accountable, and restoring harmony among Rwandans. Gacaca justice system officially closed shop on June 18, 2012 after trying more than 1.9 million suspects in ten years, a great feat in comparison to how long it would have taken if the trials were to be handled by formal courts. Under a 2012 organic law terminating Gacaca courts and determining mechanisms for solving issues arising from Gacaca courts, there are only four circumstances under which retrials can be initiated in conventional courts. They include the situation where the person alleged to have been killed by the convict is found alive, if two convicts were accused of killing the same person and there is no complicity between the two, if new evidence for criminal responsibility is found against an acquitted person, and in case a person has been convicted or acquitted by a Gacaca Court final judgment and later it is proven in court that judges who rendered the decision were corrupt. “The criteria leave little room for anyone who would want to abuse the legal prerogative to appeal using the post-Gacaca law,” explained Jean Pierre Kayitare, the assistant attorney general. Busingye promised to consult with other officials in the government to ensure that solutions for post-Gacaca issues are “creatively” thought out.

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Senators clarify on retrial of Gacaca cases