Beneficiaries are actors too.pdf - Southern Institute of Peace ...

government to protect the process from being criticised for not
meeting international legal and human rights standards.
Conclusion
This analysis concludes that the abunzi have filled a void left by
the formal court system by ensuring that local people have access
to prompt and universal justice. Like the gacaca courts, abunzi
brought justice to the grassroots level and enables community
members to participate in the dispensation of justice both
symbolically and practically. Although abunzi functions and
jurisdiction are spelt out by law, the institution, process and
rituals associated with abunzi is uniquely 'Rwandan' and has
existed long before colonialism. Abunzi processes emphasise on
mediation and conciliation, although the failure for disputants to
cooperate with the mediators can be followed by adversarial
processes and applications of punitive laws of the land. However,
in its current form, the abunzi risks being one of those statemandated
programs that addresses disputes at the superficial
'make-believe' level without effectively restoring broken
relationships and trust. It would be interesting to analyse the
long-term impact of the abunzi system on social relations and on
ownership of the outcomes of the abunzi process. On the one
hand, the abunzi can be perceived as a system that guarantees
access to justice and which does not necessarily have to be purely
mediation. On the other hand, the same system can be
interpreted as a highly politicized institution of justice which
curtails citizens' right to choose their vehicles of justice.
The mixture of the adversarial approach and the conciliatory
approach, coupled with the combination of culture and western
justice are some of the inherent contractions within the abunzi.
These contradictions also affect how it is perceived by parties and
outcomes of abunzi processes. Not wanting to paint a dark picture
of the contemporary traditional justice forums in Rwanda, it is
important to acknowledge the potential of the abunzi system if it
is delivered well. Despite being a state-backed mediation process,
the abunzi system has become embedded in daily life in Rwanda
and has the capacity to promote social rebuilding, bonding and
negotiation of community. Ultimately, the synergy between the
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