The Ministry of Justice on Friday ended a week-long Legal Aid for Justice, an outreach programme aimed at enabling the vulnerable people access justice, in Rwamagana District. The closing ceremony took place in Kigabiro sector and was attended by the European Union Ambassador Michael Ryan, parliamentarians, officials from the Embassy of Holland, UN agencies and the Office of the Ombudsman. The Minister of Justice, Johnston Busingye, reiterated the need for legal aid for justice, saying it helps raise public awareness and enables vulnerable people to access justice. “We have this week because the weak and the less fortunate in communities deserve justice. The week was used to raise such awareness [and] Rwanda will continue to deliver on these promises—to offer justice to all in society,” he said. He added that some pending cases were discovered during the week and some were immediately resolved; the rest would be handled in the near future. The minister urged people without means to meet legal costs to approach Access to Justice Bureaus, a community legal aid project commonly known by its French name, Maisons d’Accès à la Justice (MAJ). “They will help you prepare a dossier and finance litigation costs,” Busingye said. Ambassador Michael Ryan hailed the government for putting in place strong institutions that help deliver timely justice to the people. “We thank the Government of Rwanda for ensuring universal access to justice through Abunzi mediation, Gacaca, MAJ and Ombudsman…the trend is good,” he said. The function ended with some residents highlighting some of the cases that had taken long to be resolved. Generally, most of the legal disputes in Eastern Province are land-related, property inheritance and marriage. “Most of the cases that tend to persist in our districts emanate from failure to equitably share property when parents die, land, property and marriages that go wrong,” Isidore Rurangwa, a resident, said.
