International Justice Mission in Kigali

21 October 2008

The day before the watermark team left for Texas, we made a visit to the International Justice Mission (IJM) in Kigali. IJM is a Christian organization started by Gary Haugen in 1997 to utilize lawyers’ legal skills to protect the rights of the poor and exploited around the world (http://www.ijm.org/whoweare). In Rwanda, IJM selects cases from a large pool of applications, which often pertain to land ownership rights and the protection of widows and orphans.

During the introductions between Watermark and IJM/Rwanda, I had the privilege of meeting Dieter, the field office director, and Tinneka the operations coordinator. Both are doing a superb job of establishing IJM’s presence and influence in Rwanda considering the center opened recently. Tinneka told me IJM’s efforts are having an impact in the country because of the increasing opposition they are facing, which is in some respects is a positive sign.

After a short Bible Study and time of prayer, the Watermark team and I were briefed on Rwandan law and court procedures. A few facts I learned about the Rwandan legal system in the meeting were:

1) Only one judge hears each case, which helps prevent corruption in lower court trials; since a single judge can be more easily held accountable for his/her decisions than a panel of three judges, they are more likely not to accept bribes.

2) From what I understand, Rwandan courts do no include juries or a panel of peers to make rulings.

3) Rwandan judges can make decisions on cases at any time when they feel they have received enough evidence to make a ruling;

4) Four levels of courts exist in Rwanda

a. The supreme court
b. The high court of appeals
c. The lower regional courts and
d. Gacaca Courts or Community Mediation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gacaca)

Local leaders are involved in mediating in Gacaca courts between opposing parties to help avert larger workloads in the court system.

I provide these details to say: reforms in Rwandan law and more stability in the court system when it comes to corruption are both the basis for economic growth spurred on by investment from the west. A local resident recently told me Bill Gates himself is investing personal money to build a shopping center in downtown Kigali. It is simply amazing to see how fast Rwanda is changing and the growth pangs it is experiencing as a result.

After the briefing, joint groups were formed according to individual cases, which IJM wanted council on from Watermark lawyers. The case I sat in on was about a dispute over land rights between family members. Finally, the Watermark team conducted a mauk trial so Rwandan lawyers could practice presenting arguments before a court.

It is wonderful to know I JM exists and is present in communities to help the local church with legal issues and promote justice among the oppressed.