The Supreme Court, on Wednesday, July 6, certified 96 graduates who successfully completed a 6-month course in professional mediation. 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 bachelors’ degree in any field. In total, Rwanda has 165 professional mediators to date who secured Chief Justice’s approval to start practising. 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 authorising them to practise, or have not sought it. Apart from cases that are criminal in nature, Abahuza can facilitate resolution of any case regardless of the amount involved. This is contrary to Abunzi (community-based conciliators) that cannot adjudicate cases whose value exceed Frw3 million. There are a total of 17, 941 Abunzi countrywide. Abahuza can also be asked to take up cases that have already been lodged in court provided the both parties agree to it during the pre-trial sessions. It is hoped that the growing number of Abahuza will see more people embrace mediation as a way of resolving disputes, thereby helping ease case backlog in courts. The majority of the Abahuza who were certified this week are lawyers registered with Rwanda Bar Association, with others including engineers and clerics. The course was introduced to help empower interested degree holders with mediation skills as a way of enhancing a culture of mediation in dispute resolution. Chief Justice Emeritus Prof. Sam Rugege called on professional mediators to put to good use their skills to help promote peace in society. “This should promote peace in the community and contribute toward prosperity and development,” he said. “Mediation is not only for cases that have been brought to court, but those that are in the community as well.” Chief Justice Faustin Ntezilyayo said professionals in mediation will impact the judiciary and country positively. Officials are keen to see mediation gain greater recognition and acceptance in society, saying it would help save judicial resources and free up judges to concentrate on more complex cases. Cecile Mugeni, a newly certified mediator, noted that mediation is the best way to help both parties to settle their differences and continue to live in harmony with one another. Pastor Jean Claude Cyuma, another certified mediator, said: “Now I have become a mediator by profession I will implement what I learnt and facilitate people to resolve their disputes.” “We learnt how best to help people come to a solution by themselves, how to communicate and how to get everyone comfortable during the mediation process,” he said. The online mediation course was offered by the Edwards Mediation Academy, US.
