GACACA GENOCIDE ADJUDICATIONS ON TRACK FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L KIGALI 000970

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/19/2017
TAGS: PGOV PHUM RW
SUBJECT: GACACA GENOCIDE ADJUDICATIONS ON TRACK FOR
COMPLETION BY END OF 2007

REF: KIGALI 496

Classified By: CDA Cheryl J. Sim for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary. According to officials in Rwanda's National
Service of Gacaca Courts, 90 percent of all gacaca cases have
been processed and adjudications will be completed by the end
of 2007. Processing remaining category one cases (those
involving genocide leaders/organizers or those who committed
sexual crimes) will strain Rwanda's regular court system and
the establishment of a "professionalized" gacaca court is one
possible strategy being considered. Other gacaca activities,
including the creating of a national archive for all related
documents, will be completed by the end of 2008. Violence
against genocide survivors and gacaca witnesses and judges
has decreased, but continues to be of concern to the national
gacaca service. End summary.


2. (SBU) On October 18 PolOffs met with Denis Bikesha,
Director of Training, Mobilization and Sensitization for the
Rwandan National Service of Gacaca Courts, who said 90
percent of all gacaca cases have been processed. He
predicted all gacaca cases will be adjudicated by the end of

2007. Bikesha shared statistics as of mid-October on the
number and status of cases in advance of an official
announcement in the coming weeks.


3. (SBU) Bikesha said of 516,937 category three cases (those
involving loss of property) received by the gacaca courts,
about 70 percent have been heard or settled out of court, and
that 154,335 cases remained. Of 438,052 category two cases
(those involving murder or other serious abuses),298,187
have been adjudicated and 71,631 cases remain to be heard.
The other 70,000-odd cases concern deceased or missing
defendants; no adjudication will occur. While the oft-quoted
number of total gacaca cases is 818,000, the figures given by
Bikesha raise the total figure to over one million cases.
When asked about this discrepancy, Bikesha said the numbers
of accused rose as adjudicated gacaca cases revealed new
suspects and led to new cases.


4. (C) Bikesha then referred to the March 1 law which
transferred some category one cases (heard by regular courts)
to category two gacaca jurisdiction (reftel). He noted that
under current estimates, 30,000 to 40,000 category one cases
(those not involving leaders/organizers of the genocide or
those who committed sexual crimes) would be transferred to
category two. As many observers have noted, he said,
remaining category one cases would put a great strain on the
regular court system. He said one proposal was to establish
"professionalized" gacaca courts, consisting of the better
educated gacaca judges, to hear these cases. (Note: Of the
3348 gacaca courts and 1957 gacaca appeals courts now hearing
cases, many are comprised of local "persons of integrity" who
lack formal education. End note.) Formation of such a court
would require revision of the current gacaca law, which must
already be changed to reflect Rwanda's recent abolition of
the death penalty in the penal code, he commented.


5. (U) Bikesha also referred to the Government of Rwanda's
strategy for completion of all gacaca activities. Following
projected completion of case adjudication by the end of 2007,
between January and March 2008, all courts will "officially
close" throughout Rwanda. By September of 2008, all gacaca
documents will be placed in a national archive in Kigali, and
by December 2008 a final report on the gacaca process will be
issued and an international conference held.


6. (U) Separately, Bikesha confirmed recent press accounts of
the murder of a gacaca judge and genocide survivor in the
Southern Province. Bikesha said murders of genocide
survivors and gacaca judges and witnesses in general have
decreased, but security is still a concern. Staff from his
office work with police and local authorities to identify
potential threats against those participating in the gacaca
process and to provide sensitization training on violence
prevention for local populations. These efforts will
continue, especially in those parts of the country where
threats remain most severe.


7. (SBU) Comment. Bikesha's unofficial statistics provide a
general picture of great progress made in adjudicating the
large gacaca caseload. However, his figures are somewhat

inconsistent and his estimates of the percentage of completed
cases do not exactly correspond with the overall numbers he
presented. He and other officials are quick to mention the
difficulty obtaining accurate figures given the vast numbers
of accused and the thousands of courtrooms scattered
throughout the countryside. Nevertheless, in formal and
informal communications officials are adamant that
adjudications will be finished by year's end. Adhering to
this timeline, and resolving the relatively large number of
remaining category one cases, will present significant
challenges as the gacaca process comes to a close. Violence
against gacaca participants is also a challenge for the
system; security is a paramount concern for the gacaca
service and the Rwandan government as a whole. End comment.
SIM