Rwanda Revives Village Justice

Rwanda relaunched an ancient system of village justice yesterday to try tens of thousands of people accused of killing Tutsis during the 1994 genocide.

Traditional gacaca, or "grass" courts, have been revived in an attempt to empty horrendously overcrowded prisons, packed with some 115,000 Hutus awaiting trial for genocide.

"Reconciliatory justice will be the basis for unity and the foundation for progress," President Paul Kagame told MPs in Kigali.

As a first step, each village will meet to discuss the crimes committed in their communities in 1994, when 800,000 Tutsis were killed over 100 days. Those identified as responsible will be brought from prison to stand trial before judges elected by local residents.

The courts can pass sentences up to life imprisonment, but the government says that the emphasis is on forgiveness and reconciliation. Those accused of organising the genocide, however, will be tried by state courts.