gacaca

justice, reconciliation and peacebuilding in post-genocide

rwanda
ACIR ATSOC CWU

W W W . G L O P O I B . W O R D P R E S S . C O M
introduction

This case study considers the process of However, in order to fully understand the process

reconciliation and peace-building that has taken of reconciliation it is necessary to have a

place in Rwanda after the genocide of 1994. It is reasonable understanding of the events of 1994.

important to remember that the genocide itself is Remember, though, that in using this case study as

outside the scope of the Global Politics course supporting evidence you are focusing on post-

due to the requirement that the focus is on events genocide Rwanda.

within students lifetimes.

context

From April to July 1994, members of the Hutu ethnic Ethnically motivated violence continued in the

majority in the east-central African nation of years following independence. In 1973, a military

Rwanda murdered as many as 800,000 people, group installed Major General Juvenal

mostly of the Tutsi minority. Begun by extreme Hutu Habyarimana, a moderate Hutu, in power. The sole

nationalists in the capital of Kigali, the genocide leader of Rwandan government for the next two

spread throughout the country with staggering decades, Habyarimana founded a new political

speed and brutality, as ordinary citizens were party, the National Revolutionary Movement for

incited by local officials and the Hutu Power Development (NRMD). He was elected president

government to take up arms against their under a new constitution ratified in 1978 and

neighbors. By the time the Tutsi-led Rwandese reelected in 1983 and 1988, when he was the sole

Patriotic Front gained control of the country candidate. In 1990, forces of the Rwandese

through a military offensive in early July, hundreds Patriotic Front (RPF), consisting mostly of Tutsi

of thousands of Rwandans were dead and many refugees, invaded Rwanda from Uganda. A

more displaced from their homes. The RPF victory ceasefire in these hostilities led to negotiations

created 2 million more refugees (mainly Hutus) between the government and the RPF in 1992. In

from Rwanda, exacerbating what had already August 1993, Habyarimana signed an agreement at

become a full-blown humanitarian crisis. Arusha, Tanzania, calling for the creation of a

transition government that would include the RPF.

By the early 1990s, Rwanda, a small country with an This power-sharing agreement angered Hutu

overwhelmingly agricultural economy, had one of extremists, who would soon take swift and horrible

the highest population densities in Africa. About action to prevent it.

85 percent of its population is Hutu; the rest is

Tutsi, along with a small number of Twa, a Pygmy On April 6, 1994, a plane carrying Habyarimana

group who were the original inhabitants of and Burundi’s president Cyprien Ntaryamira was

Rwanda. Part of German East Africa from 1894 to shot down over Kigali, leaving no survivors. (It has

1918, Rwanda came under the League of Nations never been conclusively determined who the

mandate of Belgium after World War I, along with culprits were. Some have blamed Hutu extremists,

neighboring Burundi. Rwanda’s colonial period, while others blamed leaders of the RPF.) Within an

during which the ruling Belgians favored the hour of the plane crash, the Presidential Guard

minority Tutsis over the Hutus, exacerbated the together with members of the Rwandan armed

tendency of the few to oppress the many, creating forces (FAR) and Hutu militia groups known as the

a legacy of tension that exploded into violence Interahamwe (“Those Who Attack Together”) and

even before Rwanda gained its independence. A Impuzamugambi (“Those Who Have the Same

Hutu revolution in 1959 forced as many as 300,000 Goal”) set up roadblocks and barricades and

Tutsis to flee the country, making them an even began slaughtering Tutsis and moderate Hutus

smaller minority. By early 1961, victorious Hutus had with impunity. Among the first victims of the

forced Rwanda’s Tutsi monarch into exile and genocide were the moderate Hutu Prime Minister

declared the country a republic. After a U.N. Agathe Uwilingiyimana and her 10 Belgian

referendum that same year, Belgium officially bodyguards, killed on April 7. This violence created

granted independence to Rwanda in July 1962. a political vacuum, into which an interim
government of extremist Hutu Power leaders from troops. By the time that force arrived in full,

the military high command stepped on April 9. however, thegenocide had been over for months.

The mass killings in Rwanda quickly spread from In a separate French intervention approvedby the

Kigali to the rest of the country, with some 800,000 U.N., French troops entered Rwanda from Zaire in

people slaughtered over the next three months. late June. In the faceof the RPF’s rapid advance,

During this period, local officials and government- they limited their intervention to a “humanitarian

sponsored radio stations called on ordinary zone” set up in southwestern Rwanda, saving tens

Rwandan civilians to murder their neighbors. of thousands of Tutsi livesbut also helping some of

Meanwhile, the RPF resumed fighting, and civil war the genocide’s plotters–allies of the French

raged alongside the genocide. By early July, RPF duringthe Habyarimana administration–to

forces had gained control over most of country, escape.In the aftermath of the Rwandan

including Kigali. In response, more than 2 million genocide, many prominent figures in the

people, nearly all Hutus, fled Rwanda, crowding international community lamented theoutside

into refugee camps in the Congo (then called world’s general obliviousness to the situation and

Zaire) and other neighboring countries. its failure to act in order to prevent the atrocities

from taking place. As former U.N.Secretary-

After its victory, the RPF established a coalition General Boutros Boutros-Ghali told the PBS news

government similar to that agreed upon at Arusha, program “Frontline”:“The failure of Rwanda is 10

with Pasteur Bizimungu, a Hutu, as president and times greater than the failure of

Paul Kagame, a Tutsi, as vice president and Yugoslavia.Because in Yugoslavia the international

defense minister. Habyarimana’s NRMD party, community was interested, was involved.In Rwanda

which had played a key role in organizing the nobody was interested.” Attempts were later made

genocide, was outlawed, and a new constitution to rectify this passivity. After the RFP victory, the

adopted in 2003 eliminated reference to ethnicity. UNAMIR operation was brought back up to

The new constitution was followed by Kagame’s strength; it remained in Rwanda until March 1996,

election to a 10-year term as Rwanda’s president as one of the largest humanitarian relief efforts in

and the country’s first-ever legislative elections. history.In October 1994, the International Criminal

Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), located in Tanzania,

was established as an extension of the

As in the case of atrocities committed International Criminal Tribunal for the former

in the former Yugoslavia around the same time, Yugoslavia (ICTY) at The Hague, the first

the international community largely remained on international tribunal since the Nuremburg Trials of

the sidelines during the Rwandan genocide. A U.N. 1945-46 and the first with the mandate to

Security Council vote in April 1994 led to the prosecute the crime of genocide.

withdrawal of most of a U.N. peacekeeping The trials continued over the next decade and a

operation (UNAMIR) created the previous fall to half, including the 2008 conviction of three former

aid with governmental transition under the Arusha senior Rwandan defense and military officials for

accord. As reports of the genocide spread, the organizing the genocide.

Security Council voted in mid-May to supply a

more robust force, including more than 5,000

gacaca courts

The Gacaca court is a system of community justice Rwanda's economy would crumble as a massive

inspired by Rwandan tradition where gacaca can amount of their population awaited trial in prison.

be loosely translated to "justice amongst the For this reason they chose to adapt and create a

grass". This traditional, communal justice was large-scale justice system, which would work

adapted in 2001 to fit the needs of Rwanda in the alongside the International Criminal Tribunal for

wake of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. Using the Rwanda, in order to heal as a people and to thrive

justice system Rwanda had in place, the trial of as a country.

such massive numbers of alleged perpetrators

would take well over 200 years during which

The origins of the Gacaca system can be traced Over 12,000 Gacaca courts were established

back to 17th century pre-colonial era Rwanda in across Rwanda each covering a small community

which disputes were heard locally by wise or (known as a Gacaca cell. A Gacaca sector was

respected men within the local village or made up a small group of cells). Essentially,

community. The key aim of the Gacaca system was Gacaca sectors were considered more senior in

to restore harmony in the community by the hierarchy than Gacaca cells.

acknowledging and, where possible, righting Gacaca meetings were presided over by judges

wrongs. However, with the arrival of the colonial known as inyangamugayo who were elected to

powers and the introduction of western style legal serve on a nine-person council.

systems the Gacaca system of justice fell out of

widespread use. Click on the video link below to see the 15 minute

documentary by Journeyman Pictures than shows

After the genocide of 1994 there were proceedings during a Gacaca hearing to get a

approximately 130,000 alleged perpetrators of to better understanding of exactly what took places

be prosecuted. Originally, they were to be in these tribunals.

prosecuted by the International Criminal Tribunal

for Rwanda but the sheer numbers involved made

this impractical. Additionally, lack of resources

made it impossible to organise western style courts

which essentially meant Gacaca tribunals were

the only alternative. The goal of Gacaca courts

was to:

Establish truth about what happened

Accelerate the legal proceedings for those

accused of Genocide Crimes

Eradicate the culture of impunity

Reconcile Rwandans and reinforce their unity

Use the capacities of Rwandan society to deal

with its problems through a justice-based

Rwandan custom.
The story of François-Xavier Byuma

Human rights activist François-Xavier Byuma was The court found Byuma guilty of participating in

convicted of genocide-related charges following weapons training and several other counts

a gacaca trial that violated both Rwandan law (including participation in an attack and

and the fundamental principle that accused abduction and assault of a Tutsi woman) which

persons must be tried before a fair and impartial were not mentioned when the charges were first

court. read to Byuma before trial. It sentenced him to 19

years in prison. The court acquitted two co-

At the time allegations of genocide first surfaced accused of the same crimes, despite one of them

against him in early 2007, Byuma headed an having admitted to being guilty of one of the

organization for the defense of children’s rights charges.

(Turengere Abana) and had recently started

investigations into an allegation of rape of a 17- On August 18, 2007, an appeals court upheld the

year-old girl by a local gacaca judge. Knowing 19-year prison sentence despite numerous

that this judge would preside over his case, Byuma irregularities. Byuma had presented court records

immediately wrote to the SNJG expressing concern revealing that one prosecution witness who

that he may not receive a fair trial. His letter was accused him of assault had previously testified

found to be “baseless and unfounded.” that a different person committed the crime (and

whose name the witness never mentioned in the

Byuma’s trial began in Kigali on May 13, 2007. He gacaca case). Byuma pointed out that the trial

was accused of having been present at a court declined to hear some of the witnesses

roadblock erected to prevent Tutsi fleeing the whom he sought to call in his defense and failed

genocide, having a firearm, and participating in to reconcile contradictions in the evidence. The

weapons training. At the outset of the trial, Byuma appeals court gave no justification for its decision

asked to have the judges dismissed on the grounds affirming the conviction and offered no

of conflict of interest, but the court declined his explanation for its failure to deal with the fact that

request.In protest, Byuma refused to testify. The the presiding judge of the lower court had a clear

judge threatened to charge him for his refusal to conflict of interest with Byuma.

testify. Byuma decided to subject himself to the

jurisdiction, despite overt hostility shown by the After a strong public outcry from local and

presiding judge throughout the remainder of the international organizations, the SNJG accepted

trial. Byuma’s request for revision and brought a bench

of judges from the eastern part of the country to

At a second hearing a week later, Byuma decide the case. The SNJG reluctantly agreed to

defended himself against the charges, but the allow a lawyer to assist Byuma in his defense (as

presiding judge cut off many of his answers and long as he did not wear his robe). During the

those of witnesses who tried to speak in his hearing, however, the lawyer provided by Avocats

defense. In one instance, the presiding judge Sans Frontières (ASF) was not permitted to sit next

accused a defense witness of lying. to his client

and was repeatedly denied the opportunity to

question witnesses. These restrictions, coupled

with the open hostility shown by the presiding

judge to the lawyer’s presence, rendered his

assistance ineffective.

The court deciding Byuma’s request for revision

gave little consideration to additional defense

witnesses who testified but concluded that new

evidence had been offered by accusing witnesses,

even though some of this information was

inconsistent with earlier testimony given at trial

and on appeal. The court also found Byuma guilty

of possessing a firearm, in violation of a 2006

SNJG directive which stated that having a firearm

or being at a roadblock did not in itself constitute

a crime. The court upheld Byuma’s conviction

but reduced his sentence to 17 years’

imprisonment.

Questions to consider:
How far can Byuma's trial be said to have met

accpeted norms regarding a fair trial?

What are the implications for from the perspective

human rights? Justice?

Taken from https://www.hrw.org/report/2011/05/31/justice-compromised/legacy-rwandas-community-based-gacaca-courts

Justice compromised
The Legacy of Rwanda’s Community-Based Gacaca Courts

This report by Human Rights Watch discusses, in some detail, the legacy of the

Gacaca courts in the post-genocide peacebulding process in Rwanda, providing

some interesting case individual case studies as well as evaluating the strengths

and weaknesses of the Gacaca system. Particularly interesting is the response of

the Rwandan government to the recommendations made by HRW.

Click on the link above to download a copy of the report.

Video resources
Click on the videos to watch

An Al-Jazeera report on the role of Gacaca courts in the

Randan process of reconciliation

Let the Devil Sleep is the story of four individual's

unlikely journey of confession, forgiveness and
reconciliation in post-genocide Rwanda.

Professor Timothy Longman assesses the gacaca

process and considers whether it could serve as a
model for other countries emerging from conflict.