Kigali, 5 September 2014
President Kagame today officiated at the launch of the Judicial Year 2014 held at Parliament. Detailing the achievements of the justice sector, the Chief Justice, Sam Rugege said significant progress had been made in the last 20 years, but pointed out that more had to be done to overcome the challenges facing the sector.
In his address, President Kagame recognized the progress made by the Rwanda Judiciary, and that Rwandans were happy, but said the effort and speed should be sustained in order to reach greater heights:
“The rule of law and justice system that every Rwandan trusts goes hand in hand with the good governance that Rwandans have chosen. The justice sector has made considerable progress in the last twenty years and we should build on this progress. No one should think they are above the law regardless of the role they may have played in our history. No one should think it is within their right to undermine the progress of every Rwandan.”
President Kagame asked the Judiciary to devise ways of ensuring that cases going to Courts of Law are reduced by putting in place ways of solving them at grassroots level, like empowering local leaders to solve conflicts arising between people in communities without having to go to Courts. President Kagame also asked the Judiciary to always be conscious about the changing times and nature of crimes in terms of investigations and prosecution.