Gacaca courts system becomes operational

Rwanda's Gacaca justice system, adapted to judge the tens of thousands of people accused of participation in the 1994 genocide against some 800,000 Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus, was launched officially on Tuesday in the capital, Kigali.

Referring to the 115,000 genocide-related cases awaiting trial in Rwanda, President Paul Kagame said at the launch that it was "a known fact" that normal courts could not conduct these trials and bring them to their conclusion at a reasonable short time, Radio Rwanda reported. "That is why Rwandans found another way to solve these problems of justice caused by the massacres and genocide," he said.

In addition the system was adopted, he said, to "dig out the truth" about what happened; to speed up trials related to the massacres; to do away with impunity; to unite Rwandans through justice and with the aim of strengthening unity; and to show the capacity of the Rwandan justice system to solve problems.

In the first phase of the Gacaca process the courts were expected to identify victims of the genocide, which could take up to two or three months, Hirondelle news agency reported. This would be followed by the identification and categorisation of genocide suspects, which was expected to take less time, after which the trials would begin in each of the country's 12 prefectures, the agency reported.

Since 1996, Rwandan law has categorised genocide suspects into the planners, organisers, instigators and leaders of the genocide, "notorious murderers", and persons who committed acts of sexual torture or violence; the perpetrators, conspirators or accomplices of homicide or serious assault; those accused of serious assaults; and those who committed offences against property, such as looting.

The 254,000 Gacaca judges who will sit in panels of 19 will hear the cases of all but those accused of the most serious crimes. Rwanda's conventional courts will hear the cases of those suspected of planning, instigating and leading the genocide. The United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, northern Tanzania, will continue to hear the cases of the top ringleaders.

The Gacaca system focuses on confession and contrition, which it is hoped will lead to some form of reconciliation. Prisoners will face trial in a public forum by locally appointed judges in the places where they allegedly committed their crimes. Local residents will both accuse and defend each prisoner, with the possibility of sentences being reduced for those who confess.

Prison terms could be halved if convicts agreed to perform community service, the BBC reported. Moreover, many prisoners who have already spent eight years in prison since the genocide, some without being formally charged, could be freed after the trials.

Gacaca courts, held in an outdoor forum, were traditionally used to resolve conflicts between families by employing the heads of each household as judges.