KajyibwamiNotes

                                      To understand mediation, we should first know what it is. Mediation is a process in which a neutral third party (Mediator) assists in resolving disputes between two or more parties. Locally known as Abahuza, the role of mediators is to foster alternative dispute resolution through facilitating voluntary settlement of a case out of court. To be Umuhuza (or a professional mediator), you must possess a bachelor’s degree in any field. In total, Rwanda has 165 professional mediators to date who secured the Chief Justice’s approval to start practicing. Some 250 others have also attended the mandatory 6-month course in mediation but they’ve yet to receive the green light from the Chief Justice authorizing them to practice or have not sought it. Apart from cases that are criminal in nature, Abahuza can facilitate the resolution of any case regardless of the...

                                                     Rwanda has built a reputation in the promotion of women’s rights in all angles of her daily life as a country. Not only in our days but it is an accumulative process that started way back in pre-colonial Rwanda. A woman has a big role in the daily functioning of her family and the society at large. As my mom once told me ‘’son for you to have a strong family you need first a strong woman you will thank me later’’. She didn’t mean a physically strong woman but a woman who is intelligent enough to speak up for herself and who knows what she wants and works towards it. Despite the setbacks women encountered since ancient times, they stayed strong till today. Since ancient times, we had women who have been the icon of women’s rights. [1] From the earliest Stone Age settlements, women likely acted as...

                                            Ubi societas, ibi ius. “Wherever there is society, there is law.” For centuries, Rwanda existed as a centralized monarchy under a succession of kings from one clan, who ruled through cattle chiefs, land chiefs, and military chiefs. The king was supreme but the rest of the population, Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa, lived in symbiotic harmony. In 1899, Rwanda became a German colony and, in 1919, the system of indirect rule continued with Rwanda as a mandate territory of the League of Nations, under Belgium. [1] Because the pre-colonial Rwandan legal system was based on oral tradition, its laws can not be examined independently from the institutions that created it, preserved it, or applied it. The pre-colonial Rwandan politico-legal system finds its source in Ubwiru, comparable to the constitutional codes in the modern states; the king’s dec...