Rwanda is in a process of filing a second request to have the pending genocide cases, being handled by the, Arusha based, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), be transferred to Kigali after the initial request was dismissed.

The country’s Minister of Justice Tharcisse Karugarama told journalists on Wednesday during President Paul Kagame’s presidential press briefing in Kigali that the government in Kigali is pondering over making another request to have genocide case transferred to the Rwandan jurisdiction despite a seemingly negative response to the earlier request.

"ICTR has put recommendations and we have done them. We are going to resume the request and we hope that this time round it will be accepted," Mr Karugarama said. Despite a temporary refusal by the ICTR to transfer some genocide cases to Rwanda, Mr Karugarama, who also doubles as Rwanda’s Attorney General said the country itself believes that it has undergone such massive judicial reforms that the refusal is in the long term untenable and probably politically inspired.

The ICTR was established in 1994 by the UN Security Council, in order to prosecute and judge those people responsible for the Rwandan genocide and other serious violations of international law performed on the territory of Rwanda by Rwandan citizens between January 1 and December 31, 1994. However the tribunal’s mandate is expected to expire by the end of this year if not extended, with only appeals to be heard over 2010.President Kagame told journalists on Wednesday that he still doesn’t understand why some countries still hold his country at ransom when it comes to the issue of transferring genocide suspects and their pending cases back to Rwanda.

"I really become confused when I hear that this country has genocide fugitives and suspects and in the end they make judgement they can’t go Rwanda because in here they won’t get fair justice. I don’t agree with this. But I respect it because it is a judges ruling and disagree with because it is based on wrong facts," he said.

"In my view we have done a lot to be associated with increasingly building the (judicial) capacity so that as time goes it (ICTR) phases it self out and allows Rwanda to continue where it has stopped," he added.

Mr Kagame also added that there have been pressures on Rwanda to build its legal capacity and other institutions in the justice sector, in the last 15 years, something which the country has responded significantly in a positive manner. Rwanda celebrates her 15 year liberation anniversary next month on the 4th of July.

"I think a great job has been done. Our systems today are able to handle all the cases that are associated with this situation," he said.

"But even if people thought we have not achieved enough of this capacity. They can still accompany Rwanda with the process of dealing with this problem. When I look back and I look around the details of this process, I find that there is a lot of politics...politics of different kinds is applied," he added.

Rwanda’s Minister of Justice, Mr Karugarama recently explained that the submissions of Rwanda’s application to the ICTR to have cases transferred, under the ’rule 11 bis’ were set out under three broad justifying issues.

"Firstly Rwanda has a personal jurisdiction over the accused because it is the territory in which the accused committed the crimes. Secondly Rwanda has subject matter jurisdiction (rationae materiae) over the crimes alleged in the indictment and has the willingness and ability to try the cases," Mr Karugarama said.

The third issue Mr Karugarama cited was that the accused will receive a fair trial in Rwanda, and the death penalty will not be imposed on the accused in the event of a conviction.The Amicus briefs filed by Rwanda to the ICTR, under the same rule also shows that even though the ICTR refused the transfers, the ICTR court at least acknowledged the achievements recorded by the Rwandan judiciary after the reforms of 2004.Despite improving prison conditions to those of an international level, one of the major reformations was Rwanda’s abolition of the death penalty.Officials in Rwanda, a country where over a million citizens became victims of the 1994 genocide, say that Rwanda should be considered as priority in matters regarding justice to its citizens. "To this effect, Rwandan judiciary has built its capacity, both logistically, human resource, and consolidated its institutions," Mr Karugarama said.

"Numerous pieces of legislation exist to meet international legislative standards. This has been realised, partly in collaboration with the ICTR, and within the line of the Rwandan government policy to streamline and reform the Rwandan judiciary after so many years of impunity that culminated into the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi," he added.

Daily Nation