The limits of post-genocide justice in Rwanda: assessing gacaca from the perspective of survivors

Abstract

ABSTRACT In 2002 the Rwandan government asked thousands of untrained civilians to organize, staff, and operate the largest judicial experiment in human history: the gacaca courts. For nearly a decade, community residents met weekly to judge the fates of accused genocidaires. Critical to this process were survivors who acted as judges, provided testimony, and bore witness to the Rwandan government’s response to genocide. This paper documents the findings from qualitative fieldwork in Rwanda exploring survivor perceptions of the gacaca process and outcomes. In total, 57 stakeholders were interviewed and asked about their perspectives on the court’s procedures, limitations, accomplishments, and legacy. Results from this study indicate that although survivors desired and expected a variety of justice-related outcomes from the courts, including punishment for those responsible, material and symbolic reparations, peace and security, in the end, many were disappointed. Nevertheless, as the process wore on, many survivors continued to support gacaca’s operation because they believed it was the only way they could shape post-genocide narratives about Rwanda’s past, present and future. Ultimately this paper presents a more complex picture of how those on the ground understood the gacaca process.