Contemporary Gacaca draws inspiration from the traditional model, by replicating a local community-based justice system with the aim of restoring the social fabric of society. The courts are credited with laying the foundation for peace, reconciliation, and unity in Rwanda. The Gacaca courts officially finished their work in June 2012.
“One day during a memorial service, I was approached by a survivor. He was very emotional. ‘Why are you asking us to forgive?’ he asked me. ‘Haven’t we suffered enough? We weren’t the cause of this problem. Why must we provide the solution?’ These were very challenging questions. So I paused for a long time. Then I told him: ‘I’m very sorry. You are correct. I am asking too much of you. But I don’t know what to ask the perpetrators. ‘Sorry’ won’t bring back any lives. Only forgiveness can heal this nation. The burden rests with the survivors because they are the only ones with something to give.” – President Paul Kagame in “Humans of New York”
After the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, rendering justice was a huge challenge. Since 1959, those responsible for oppressing and killing Tutsi had benefitted not only from blanket amnesties but also from rewards. The architects of the genocide then engineered mass participation in the killings to blur the lines of individual responsibility. By the year 2000, over 130,000 genocide suspects were detained in precarious conditions. Between 1996 and 1999 only 300-350 cases had been tried by classical courts, it was estimated that it would have taken 100 years to try all of the genocide cases in this way.
Contemporary Gacaca draws inspiration from the traditional model, by replicating a local community-based justice system with the aim of restoring the social fabric of society. The courts are credited with laying the foundation for peace, reconciliation, and unity in Rwanda. The Gacaca courts officially finished their work in June 2012.
The word Gacaca refers to the small clearing where a community would traditionally meet to discuss issues of concern. People of integrity (elders and leaders) in the village known as inyangamugayo, would facilitate a discussion that any member of the community could take part in. Once everyone had spoken, the inyangamugayo would reach a decision about how the problem would be solved. In this way, Gacaca acted very much as a traditional court. If the decision was accepted by all members of the community, the meeting would finish with sharing a drink as a sign of reconciliation.
The idea of entrusting genocide trials to community courts inspired by Gacaca, a traditional dispute resolution mechanism, received a range of strong reactions. Some felt that such crimes could not be tried by regular citizens. Others saw in it a maneuver to put blame on the entire Hutu population, while others feared it would lead to rampant impunity for genocide perpetrators just as had been the case in the past. Outside Rwanda, jurists worried about the absence of trained magistrates and defense attorneys.
Contemporary Gacaca was officially launched on 18 June 2002 by President Paul Kagame. The main objective of Gacaca was to reconcile Rwandans through a process of participatory justice. Members of each community were to play all key roles, as prosecutors, judges, and witnesses. Gacaca courts relied on the categorization of offenses and reduced sentences for those who confessed voluntarily and asked for forgiveness. In total, 1,958,634 genocide-related cases were tried through Gacaca.
The Gacaca courts officially finished their work ten years later on 18 June 2012. They are credited with laying the foundation for peace, reconciliation, and unity in Rwanda.
