Rwanda’s Chief Justice Aloysie Cyanzaire has advised judges not to be discouraged by negative criticisms aganist the country’s justice system, saying the judiciary now has more experienced professionals unlike in the past one decade.
Cyanzaire was speaking at a press briefing aimed at highlighting activities of the yearlong judiciary campaign that showcased achievements relevant to the institution.
She pointed out that there are indeed tangible achievements despite some challenges that can be dealt with in collaboration with stakeholders.
“We have a backlog of cases. In the past seven years they’ve risen from 6,500 to 25,000 cases annually. Very soon we want to find how to cooperate with our partners in addressing the issue.”
“Currently the Abunzi (community judges) for instance would be of much help in settling cases at the grass-root level,” she emphasized.
She revealed that during the judicial week, the public will be sensitized on their rights since lack of the know how has blindly led some into corrupt activities.
“Understanding the law is very essential, a good example is the pre-trial detention period for suspects which can go for a long period as prosecutors gather evidence, but for those who don’t understand the procedural rules start complaining of injustice,” she remarked.
The Chief Justice said the judiciary has recorded progress since the 2004 reforms and now it has competent staff including 281 professional judges compared to 74 in past seven years and that the court rooms have been equipped with relevant infrastructure which facilitate the use of ICT.
The use of ICT according to her has smoothened the process of court rulings, especially in accessing files which would take days to be delivered to the judge but now the latter can access files through their computer.
Meanwhile, the judiciary is still constructing modern courtrooms of which out of 82 proposed rooms 26 have been completed while 28 have been renovated.
Leave a Reply