Residents of Bugesera District have commended mediation committees (Abunzi) for their role in resolving local disputes.

The residents were speaking during the launch of week-long activities to mark ten years of operation of Abunzi in Ruhuha Sector on Monday.

The celebrations are being marked under the theme; "Abunzi: Homegrown solution for peaceful conflict management.”

Emmanuel Mushyitsi, 33, a resident of Shyara Sector, had a dispute with Celestin Bajyagahe (his elder brother) over a plot of land.

Mushyitsi had bought a plot of land worth Rwf700,000 from Bajyagahe in 2009 who later turned around and wanted to grab the land.

"Since the majority of witnesses were family members, he (Bajyagahe) thought it would be easy to grab the land from me.

"But when I presented all my documents to Abunzi, they realised that I was the rightful owner of the land and my brother was forced to abandon his plans. We were reconciled and are now living in harmony,” Mushyitsi said.

Zephronia Mukandanga, another resident, was abandoned by her husband and father of her two children after marrying another woman.

 "We were faced with financial constraints and my husband decided to sell our plot of land without my consent,” she said.

 "After being deprived of the land which had been the family’s major source of livelihood, I engaged mediators. The issue was resolved amicably and I recovered the plot of land,” Mukandanga narrated.

"I thank Abunzi for helping me get back the land. Although my husband abandoned me, I know my children will have food and a roof over their heads,” she said.

Currently, there are about 30,000 mediators across the country that constitute the cell and sector mediation committees. Bugesera District has a total of 1,044 mediators.

Justice minister Johnston Busingye, who officiated at the launch of the anniversary celebrations, said the concept of Abunzi, which was initiated by the government as a way to establish lasting peace in society, has helped reduce  court backlog.

"We commend the achievements of Abunzi since their introduction in 2004. The Abunzi committees are here to stay. There are issues which can be resolved amongst you without necessarily going to courts,” Busingye said.

The minister said mediation came in place as a proposal from the people ealier in 2003. Gacaca courts inspired the mediation committees, he said.

"Today, courts are only handling cases that are not in the mediators jurisdiction,” he added.

However, the government plans to reduce the number of mediators so as to ease their facilitation; in terms of transport, health insurance, and capacity building.

The Eastern Province Governor, Odette Uwamariya, said a lot had been achieved through Abunzi committees.

"Our country went through a terrible history (of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi). This left us with so many challenges, which called for a unique approach to overcome them. One of them was Abunzi concept. This has brought sustainable peace and reconciliation in our communities,” she said.

The province, with 95 sectors, has over 7,000 mediators, who have helped settle various family and community disputes.

"The majority of the cases taken up by Abunzi were resolved amicably and citizens were left satisfied by mediators’ resolutions,” Uwamariya added.

A recent study, conducted by Rwandan mediation actors, revealed that over 80 per cent of the respondents were satisfied with Abunzi decisions as compared to other alternatives like family mediation, local government, or churches, among others.

The mediation committees mainly handle civil disputes, especially those related to land and other immovable assets whose value does not exceed Rwf3 million.

The committes also handle cases involving movable property and assets such as cattle, whose value does not exceed Rwf1 million.

Charles Hitimana, a mediator for the last 10 years, said: "It is a pleasure to serve my community and help bring about lasting peace to the country.”

Hitimana urged the government to facilitate the mediators  in terms of welfare and capacity building.

The national celebrations will be held in Kigali on October 18.