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Gacaca Courts in Rwanda 19THE GACACA SYSTEMGacaca, a Kinyarwanda concept, literally means ‘justice on the grass’. Gacaca courts asan endogenous Rwandese dispute resolution system involves people sitting outside,on the grass, to settle their disputes in the presence of community members. LeahWerchick notes that in its precolonial form, gacaca was used to moderate disputesconcerning land use rights, cattle ownership, marriage, inheritance rights, and pettytheft, among other interpersonal disagreements. 6 The gacaca system did not deal withterribly complicated issues, such as mass murder.The gacaca system rests upon the voluntary confession, demonstration of remorse,apology, and request for forgiveness by perpetrators. Traditionally, gacaca emphasisedmorality as the basis for adjudication. As a result, gacaca courts were run by members ofthe community known as the inyangamugayo, or ‘persons of exemplary conduct’, whowere renowned for courage, honor, justice and truth. 7 The inyangamugayo, deemed to beabove reproach, were given this role based on their high moral and ethical standards. Intraditional Rwanda, when a dispute had been resolved, a ritual or ceremony would beheld to reflect the symbolic and practical importance of the process. Gacaca sessionsoften ended with the parties sharing a traditional libation and a meal as a gesture of reconciliation.Serious offences would result in the offender being ostracized from the community.The gacaca system as a typical endogenous method of conflict resolutionresembles similar processes that developed in other parts of Africa, including mato oputin northern Uganda, 8 the gadaa system among the Oromo of Ethiopia, 9 and the guuirtof Somaliland. 10 Gacaca is a distinctly traditional Rwandan practice, although it has beeninstrumentalized and infused with some European-based ideas about justice. 11The Gacaca ProcessIn contemporary Rwanda, gacaca processes involve local residents giving testimonyfor and against suspects, who are essentially tried in the communities where they areaccused of having committed crimes. The majority of individuals tried in gacacacourts are typically prisoners prepared to confess to the atrocities they may have committedand freely willing to engage in community adjudication. According to Anne6. L. Werchick, ‘Prospects for justice in Rwanda’s citizen tribunals’, Human Rights Brief, 8:3 (2001),www.wcl.american.edu/hrbrief/08/3rwanda.cfm.7. The term inyangamugayo is a Kinyarwanda word that translates literally as ‘people who hate evil’.These are persons of integrity who are known to be uncorrupted.8. Mato oput is a reconciliation ceremony conducted among the Acholi of northern Uganda. The resolutionof the conflict is symbolized by the conflicting parties drinking a bitter herb mixture from the oputtree from the same vessel.9. The gadaa is a system of age-grade classes that succeed each other in assuming political and socialresponsibilities. A complete gadaa cycle consists of five age grades. The authority held by elders is derivedfrom their position in the gadaa system. For details, see Gumii Bilisummaa Oromiyaa, ‘Understanding thegadaa system’, 2000, www.gumii.org/gada/understd.html.10. The guuirt is the highest-level council of elders in Somaliland and the highest traditional authority.Each council consists of a body of elders who represent the lineages in the clan and is headed by clanleaders, or sultans.11. See M. Sabera et al., ‘The gacaca justice system: A process for reconciliation and sustainable peace’,Women’s World (Kampala), 2007.