Local mediators get training, work kits

Community mediators (Abunzi) from three sectors of Musanze District have received basic working kits and training on their usage to help them execute their duties with ease.Abunzi are home-grown arbitrators mandated to handle community disputes and only refer more serious cases to legal jurisprudence to avoid backlogs. The kits, which included customised stationary, were provided by Rwanda Initiative for Sustainable Development (Risd), a local NGO.According to Joy Wibabara, a field volunteer with Risd, previously research indicated that local mediators lacked efficient materials such as books, appropriate papers to use while working, as well as where to keep those materials.“Mediators are helpful in arbitrating land-related conflicts in communities, and, as an organisation that focuses on land rights, we see them as invaluable partners,” Wibabara said.Curbing legal burdenWibabara said the Abunzi level is the basic jurisdiction where issues are discussed and, by empowering them, it means more conflicts will be solved at grassroots level.She said this empowerment should be a priority to avoid time and resource wastage that comes with going to courts.“We hope this contribution will improve their performance and help them serve the community better, we will keep monitoring how they use the material,” she said.Donatha Muziranenge, a mediator from Muhoza Sector, said: “The equipment will help us easily solve land conflicts. We really needed such training, besides the materials we got will help us preserve people’s documents as we lost some of them because of inefficient storage.”Rwanda Initiative for Sustainable Development currently operates in 10 districts countrywide.

National

Local mediators get training, work kits