The MP’s debated on the article of the Law that gives the Abunzi ( mediation committee) an increased role in judging cases that relate to the juridical cases involving public or state cases and citizens.
The 24th article of the law gives the permission to Abunzi to deal with cases that involve state organs or representatives and citizens.
This article that was presented by the Minister of justice caused much controversy among MPs on the role of Abunzi in such matters.
For the MP’s if the Abunzi are to mediate all actors having misunderstanding, they have to play a crucial role in mediating both people and state representatives having cases with citizens.
The article of the Law that involves the Abunzi in judging such cases points out that if the later ones are allowed to judging such cases, the outcome would be that both state bodies involved and citizens would be in complicated relations.
To this, some MPs replied that excluding the Abunzi would rather cause serious consequences such as a lack of mutual trust between state organs and citizens concerned.
However the Abunzi have been commended for their active participation in resolving different cases.
Another article of the law that was discussed upon related to the abilities devoted to the commission to set up sanctions for someone responsible for having damaged public infrastructures.
The debate upon this article was about why the sanctions will be taken if the Abunzi are the ones to mediate not to punish.
The Law gives the power to the Abunzi to judge cases worthy 5 million RwF instead of being 3 million as stipulated early.
The Law gives to Abunzi the power of sentencing people found guilty of having damaged public infrastructures to works of public interests.
The Abunzi have been very fruitful in talking over 32 174 juridical cases among 40 118 cases that had to be judged in 2013.
There is a hope that the Abunzi will be positively dealing with different juridical issues at 80 percent progressively as the law legislating their working abilities and limits will be adjusted.
UM– USEKE.RW