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Gacaca, Grassroots Justice After Genocide: the Key to Reconciliation in Rwanda? Molenaar, A

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Gacaca, Grassroots Justice After Genocide: the Key to Reconciliation in Rwanda? Molenaar, A Gacaca, grassroots justice after genocide: the key to reconciliation in Rwanda? Molenaar, A. Citation Molenaar, A. (2005). Gacaca, grassroots justice after genocide: the key to reconciliation in Rwanda?. Leiden: African Studies Centre. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/1887/4645 Version: Not Applicable (or Unknown) License: Leiden University Non-exclusive license Downloaded from: https://hdl.handle.net/1887/4645 Note: To cite this publication please use the final published version (if applicable). Gacaca: grassroots justice after genocide The key to reconciliation in Rwanda? i African Studies Centre Research Report 77/2005 Gacaca: grassroots justice after genocide The key to reconciliation in Rwanda? Arthur Molenaar Published by: African Studies Centre P.O. Box 9555 2300 RB Leiden Tel: +31 (0)71 527 33 72 Fax: +31 (0)71 527 33 44 E-mail: [email protected] Website:http://asc.leidenuniv.nl ISBN 90.5448.056.4 Printed by: PrintPartners Ipskamp B.V., Enschede © African Studies Centre, Leiden, 2005 Contents List of figures vii List of tables vii Acknowledgements viii Glossary x 1 INTRODUCTION 1 Justification of methods 5 Justification of research techniques 7 Arrangement of chapters 8 2 GACACA: THE REVIVAL OR INVENTION OF TRADITION? 10 Gacaca before colonization 11 Gacaca in colonial times: The decline of legitimacy 17 Gacaca after independence: Moving away from tradition 19 The coming into being of new gacaca 21 The new gacaca law: A blend of traditions 23 The new gacaca: A unique continuation of old policies 25 3 THEORISING RECONCILIATION 27 The importance of reconciliation 27 Defining reconciliation 31 Assumptions about reconciliation 33 Elements of reconciliation 34 Conclusion: A concept of reconciliation 45 4 TRYING TO BE A "GOOD STATE": THE POLITICS OF RECONCILIATION 47 Showing goodwill: A government set on reconciliation 48 Reconciliation in Rwanda: the official discourse 50 Making prisoners confess: A success story 52 The invention of an unproblematic past: Education in the right way of thinking 57 Pre-gacaca: The problems of confession in practice 61 Conclusion 64 v vi 5 BEFORE GACARA'S START: REVIEWS AND EXPECTATIONS IN AND OUTSIDE RWANDA 66 High hope with blinkers on? Official expectations of gacaca 66 "Critical support": The international attitude to gacaca 69 What the population says about gacaca 73 6 HISTORY AND THE FIELDWORK AREA 76 The chosen ones: The start of a pilot phase 76 The fieldwork area at a glance 77 A local history of peace and war after independence 79 The killing friends: Genocide in Mudasomwa 82 After the genocide: Reversed roles? 87 7 GRASSROOTS JUSTICE IN PRACTICE: A VIRTUE OR A CURSE? 92 The three stages of gacaca 93 Gacaca in Gatovu and Vumwe: A view from the outside 97 Views of gacaca from the inside: Grassroots justice as a factor of separation 103 Three cases: Some problems and challenges in practice 118 Gacaca's immediate consequences for communal life 130 Conclusion 135 8 GACACA: THE ROAD TO RECONCILIATION? 137 Gacaca versus the confession and request for forgiveness 138 Gacaca versus forgiveness 142 Gacaca versus uncovering the truth 144 Gacaca versus justice 148 9 CONCLUSION 157 Bibliography 162 vii List of figures 3.1 Lederach's diagram of reconciliation 36 3.2 Reconciliation and its elements 46 7.1 Attendance rate (as % of total adult population) of gacaca in Gatovu and Vumwe 102 List of tables 3.1 Importance of reconciliation according to the different stakeholders 29 3.2 Elements of reconciliation 38 4.1 Confessions in Gikongoro Central Prison 54 4.2 Confessions per prosecution office 54 7.1 Numbers and kinds of testimonies per group in Gatovu 105 7.2 Numbers and kinds of testimonies per group in Vumwe 105 viii Acknowledgements It is said that writing your graduation thesis is an act of solitude. Well, it is not. Although the pile of papers (or the file on your computer) in front of you is also the result of many hours of work by myself, it could not exist without the assistance and presence of a large number of people. In times of need, and at many other moments, these people were there for me, offering help, advice and pleasant company. First and foremost, I am most grateful to Klaas de Jonge who was my supervisor in the field. Without hesitation, I can say that Klaas is the best thing that can happen to any young student who wants to do research in a country like Rwanda. His knowledge, hospitality, intelligence, helpfulness and friendship have been invaluable. Our numerous discussions constantly challenged me to stay alert and dig deeper into the subject. The beers and dinners we shared made my time in Rwanda very pleasant as well. Klaas, you are the best! Dirk Damsma and Thea Hilhorst were excellent supervisors. They left me free to go my own way, while at the same time offering important advice whenever necessary. Their comments helped me to reflect on my work and to adapt it in order to enhance its quality. I thank them for their time, dedication and the confidence they had in me. In addition, when thinking about Thea, I wonder what other supervisor goes dancing in nightclubs until 4 am with her student? Then, I want to mention a number of people who, all in their own ways, contributed greatly to the completion of this thesis. They are: my translator Albert Karangwa, Alphonse Nyirimbibi (coordinator of LIPRODOR in Gikongoro Province), Arjen Schijf, my father Ed Molenaar, my host in Gasarenda Emile Gasana, Hanneke Ronnes, Ian Philpott, Jean-Marie Nikuzwe, Jojanneke Spoor, Laurent Bugabo (Director of the Gikongoro Central Prison), Laura Ruth, Liesbeth Rijlaarsdam, my host and translator Myrielle Gasana, Martijn Olislagers, Mascha Schouwenaars, my mother Margo Molenaar, my grandmother Mrs Moret, Penal Reform International, Per-Anders Pettersson (who gave me permission to use his photo for the front page of my original text), Peter van Drie, Sander Holweg, the Schuurman, Schimmel – van Outeren Stichting, Stichting Dr Hendrik Muller’s Vaderlandsch Fonds, and the populations of Gasarenda, Gatovu and Vumwe who were so welcoming to that strange Muzungu (white man) who came to study their lives. Thanks to you all! ix Finally, I am grateful to the African Studies Centre to publish my thesis as a Research Report and in particular to Mieke Zwart for putting the manuscript in the right layout. Arthur x Glossary Abiru The guardians of tradition. They fulfilled a symbolic role in the Court of the Mwami. Bazungu Common language for white men. Genocidair Common language to identify a person who participated in the genocide. Imidugudu Villages that were constructed after the genocide to accommodate returning refugees and survivors whose houses had been destroyed. Inkotanyi Means literally “invincible”. The name given to the rebels of the RPF. Interahamwe Means literally “unity”. The name to identify the Hutu militia and other gangs of killers who participated in the genocide. Inyangamugayo Means literally “honest person”. The name of the judges in the gacaca courts. Muzungu Means literally: “someone that has taken in the place”. Common language for white person. Mwami Traditional Tutsi king. NURC National Unity and Reconciliation Commission. Nyumbakumi Administrative unit that formerly consisted of ten households. Parquet Office of the Prosecutor, at provincial level. RPF Rwandan Patriotic Front. Formerly the rebel army that stopped the genocide, but now the main political party. 1 Introduction When I look around, I see on my left about 50 people sitting on the grass. They are all inhabitants of a small Rwandan community called Gatovu. A little to the side, a group of four women are talking quietly. They are survivors of the 1994 genocide. On my right I see 15 men and women who are sitting on wooden benches, protecting their heads from the sun with colourful umbrellas. They also live in Gatovu and with the other villagers they share the same way of dressing, level of education, poverty, religion and way of life. Yet recently, their position in society has changed. As in every community in Rwanda, there has been an election in Gatovu in which the villagers have chosen a number of respected individuals among them to become judges in a gacaca court. This position gives them the power to prosecute those who committed crimes during the 1994 genocide. Most people are silent, in the expectation of things to come. Is the population tense? Some have reason to be because today one of the prisoners whose case will be discussed has confessed. He will make public what he did and with who. Anyone’s name could be mentioned so it might be better to remain unnoticed. Only Simon,1 a farmer who is the “president” of the court, paces up and down impatiently. It is now almost two o’clock, and the prisoners should have arrived hours ago. Last week, he waited all day for nothing because the car from the 1 A number of interviewees asked explicitly not to have their real names used in this thesis. All the names of the people from my fieldwork area have therefore been changed. 1 2 prison could not travel due to the petrol crisis. The petrol crisis is not yet over, so he fears that he will lose another day. Suddenly, however, there is a sound that is unmistakably a car driving up the hill to Gatovu. Some minutes later, a pick-up arrives that is loaded with men dressed in pink who are guarded by one policeman who is casually carrying an automatic firearm. The men, all detainees from the central prison in Gikongoro, jump out of the vehicle and greet their relatives and neighbours warmly. For them too, today is a day marked by tension, because what will be said in the next few hours will decide if their future is one of captivity or freedom.
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