Kigali, 10 October 2016
President Kagame today presided over the launch of the new Judicial Year 2016/2017 at Parliament, which was attended by officials from the civilian and military judicial organs as well as high ranking government officials and diplomats.
In his address, President Kagame appreciated the judicial sector for the numerous improvements registered trough protracted reforms:
“Let me start by thanking everyone in the sector for your service to our country. The fruit of your commitment and efforts is first and foremost the high trust Rwandan citizens have in our justice system. Recent reforms of police and criminal justice agencies aim to strengthen our institutions. The effectiveness of the reorganisation will be evaluated against enhanced standards. Streamlined institutions will acquire capacity to respond more effectively to requirements of local and global law enforcement.”
Calling on judicial officials to aim at constantly improving their capacities, President Kagame said judicial personnel must always be beyond reproach for the judiciary to serve its purpose and maintain confidence of citizens.
“Knowledge and expertise is not enough. We have to figure out how to improve what we have in our hearts. It is up to you to decide how you use expertise and knowledge so that real justice may be delivered.”
Speaking on international justice, President Kagame warned that duplicity that Rwandans are used to was not expected to end soon:
“There are so many judgments out there whose basis is dishonesty and deliberate distortions. You are dealing with people who think they own you, treat you in manner that doesn’t meet standards used for their own people. We have decided we are not going to be deterred from our responsibility to deliver justice and dignity Rwandans deserve.”
Concerning reports that France was planning to start the probe into the shooting of Juvenal Habyarimana’s plane all over again, President Kagame stated that Rwanda and her judicial system were not subordinate to France or French interests.
“After investigating the case for two years and not finding anything, they want to start all over again. I have no problem with that. If starting all over again is a show down, then we will have a show down. When it is your right, it is never going to cost too much to do the right thing. France should be the one being tried for Genocide, not Rwanda.”
The President of the Supreme Court, Sam Rugege said the Judiciary has continued to improve as a result of deliberate strategies employed to position the organ to efficiently deliver justice as desired by the people.
He also said that enforcement of disciplinary measures and introduction of technology have played a key role in effecting the improvements registered in the Judiciary and called for the application of colonial laws to be immediately halted like it was done in the U.S, Singapore and elsewhere.