“The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood,” said Martin Luther King, Jr.

From the time of the initial legal needs assessment made for Rwanda in 2006, IBJ has made great strides in spreading that essential seed of hope of which Martin Luther King spoke in the quote above. In this genocide-ravaged country, IBJ has fostered a growing community of like-minded “disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice,” and willing to defend their brothers and countrymen for the sake of achieving, ultimately, a more secure and livable society.

In partnership with the Kigali Bar Association, IBJ has conducted rights awareness campaigns aimed at reaching the general public and legal skills workshops for lawyers willing to step up to the challenge of defending the defenseless. Among the lawyers IBJ has reached through its trainings, many have joined IBJ as volunteers, deepening their commitment to providing legal assistance pro bono, and reaching many accused individuals who would otherwise have gone unrepresented in a bewildering criminal legal process.

One such volunteer attorney, Jacques Karamira, has embodied this spirit of hope, and has demonstrated, through a recent case, the possibility of achieving positive results for his client through determination and an unwillingness to accept injustice. After taking part in IBJ’s skills trainings in 2010, Jacques was able to put his advocacy skills to work in the case of “Alex,” a prisoner he encountered in April 2011 while conducting a regular prison visit on behalf of IBJ.

Alex is an ordinary Rwandan citizen, a married father of five, who had been accused of a robbery. In his initial encounter with Jacques, Alex maintained his innocence, and said he had no idea why he was accused of this crime. According to Jacques’ investigation, the robbery in question took place in early 2009, although Alex’s arrest did not occur until early 2010. After his arrest, Alex told Jacques, he was subjected to cruel beatings at the hands of police, who would not allow his family to visit him until he finally confessed to the crime. For over 16 months prior to meeting Jacques, Alex was being held in pre-trial detention, facing charges he didn’t understand, awaiting trial at some uncertain time in the future.

Unfortunately, the situation that Alex was facing is not exceptional in Rwandan prisons. Approximately 26% of the entire prison population in Rwanda is detained awaiting trial. Cut off from their families and rarely able to afford access to legal counsel, they face life-threatening prison conditions. Although these detainees awaiting trial have not been found guilty of any crime, they are not segregated from the population of convicted prisoners. Without legal aid, many languish for months or even years without even knowing when their cases will be heard in a court of law.

With Jacques’ expert assistance, however, Alex would soon have his day in court. The key for Alex was having a skilled advocate like Jacques to help navigate the case through the system. Only weeks after their initial meeting, Jacques was having Alex narrate his entire ordeal in open court. Alex recounted his torture, both mental and physical, and renounced the false confession that police had extracted from him. As the prosecution had no better evidence to support the charge against him, Alex was found innocent. The court granted Alex immediate release, allowing him to finally return to his family.

While many injustices may seem insurmountable, IBJ has always held that ending the routine use of torture in the world’s criminal justice systems is an achievable goal with concrete solutions. The success that Jacques had in delivering Alex out of his unjust imprisonment is a clear example of a step in the right direction. IBJ is grateful to Jacques, one of Rwanda’s nonconformists, bringing his country ever closer to a more secure and livable future.

Image courtesy Krzysztof Racoń and Michal Wojtysiak, copyright 2011.

Kellie Krake and John Tawanda Burombo share legal skills at IBJ's training workshop in Kigali, Rwanda

It was quite hot in Kigali on July 20^th 2011. Despite the heat, 30 defense lawyers gathered at IBJ’s Rwanda office for a skills building training workshop to strengthen their ability to advocate for the rights of their clients. Kellie Krake, IBJ’s Training Director and an American lawyer with years of criminal defense experience, and John Busco Bugingo, the head of IBJ Rwanda, were at the helm of this intense training workshop.

Participants were very eager to share their values, stories, and to learn. Ideas and answers to questions came from all sides. The workshop focused on cross-examination techniques where lawyers analyzed a fact scenario to identify what to ask clients to get the most information out of them. Lawyers were also trained on how to build the theme and theory of the case. A presentation on early access to counsel and international standards followed. After the morning session, participants received a certificate of attendance identifying the skills they had just learned.

Rwandan attorneys take note of the criminal defense practice tips IBJ delivers

The second half of the daywas dedicated to training the trainers. The purpose of a Train the Trainers program is to get more experienced lawyers to be able to pass their skills onto others. Participants learned how to conduct a good and competent training session, and learned how to focus their efforts. They were also provided with materials to facilitate this task. Under IBJ’s current program, over 180 Rwandan lawyers have been trained in the last three years. In order to capitalize on this success, IBJ is now deploying the more skilled criminal defense lawyers to train others and thus multiply their impact.

IBJ Skills Training Workshop

The workshop was also a valuable networking opportunity for participants, who were given the opportunity to get involved as IBJ volunteer lawyers.

All images courtesy Krzysztof Racoń and Michal Wojtysiak, copyright 2011.

A multitude of strategies and recommendations were put forward by the lawyers. One of the main suggestions was to enhance cooperation with relevant national authorities. An open roundtable discussion on the  issue of prolonged pre-trial detention in Rwanda with judges, prison officials, Supreme Court personnel, national prosecution authorities and law clerks, was sought to ensure that the accused have increased access to legal counsel. Experience shows that when all actors of the justice system are aware of the problems pertaining to pre-trial detention and greater cooperation among authorities and lawyers is promoted, a major step is taken in solving this issue.

IBJ lawyers were also advised to monitor and document cases dealing with prolonged pre-trial detention and use it as an advocacy tool. Lawyers were encouraged to consider how the cases of illegal detentions they handle can be leveraged as opportunities to establish the right to a speedy trial for all arrestees across the country. Regarding early access to counsel, lawyers suggested an early intervention mechanism through the deployment of lawyers to police stations and prosecution offices to assist people as soon as arrest is effective.

Lawyers voiced particular concerns over juveniles’ access to legal representation and delays in juvenile cases. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Kigali Bar Association (KBA) to appoint two lawyers to the Intermediary courts. Lawyers requested IBJ’s increased intervention to support the MoJ and KBA and continue promoting the growing culture of legal aid in Rwanda.

Above: Studious atmosphere prevails at IBJ’s third Criminal Defense Task Force Meeting at the CDRC in Kigali (Photo by Hadijah Batamuriza).

Above: IBJ Rwanda Fellow John Bosco Bugingo reasserts the need for lawyers’ continuous involvement to secure legal aid for all in Rwanda (Photo by Hadijah Batamuriza).

Above: Members of the Task Force expressed a strong appreciation for IBJ’s English/French French/English Glossary of Legal Terms (Photo by John Bosco Bugingo).

The two-day conference included presentations on various relevant topics of interest for the legal community of East Africa. The topics that were discussed were harnessing democracies in East Africa; progress towards the East African Common market; the quest for free and fair electoral processes in East Africa and access to justice for all. Papers on these topics that were written for the purpose of the discussions will be available soon on the EALS website.

With the growing standardization and harmonization of laws across the East Africa Community (EAC), the language barrier between the Anglophone Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and the mostly Francophone Burundi and Rwanda becomes particularly challenging. Even within Rwanda the situation is tricky as lawyers can plead in court in French, English or Kinyarwanda, making the procedure at times very complex, labor-intensive and time-consuming. To get lawyers excited about the upcoming manual, IBJ developed a 50-page glossary of English/French and French/English legal terms pertaining to the field of criminal law with the support of the EALS, the Burundi Bar Association and the Kigali Bar Association. The glossary translates more than 800 legal terms from English to French and vice versa. 400 printed copies of the manual have been distributed at the East Africa Law Society Annual General Meeting and Conference on November 19^th and 20^th 2010 in Bujumbura, Burundi, creating a sensation within the East African legal community. Many lawyers appreciated the glossary and showed interest in IBJ’s work in the different communities of East Africa. At the end of the conference, only ten of the 400 copies were left. Additionally, a reception that was organized for those attending ensured that lawyers could interact informally and enabled our fellows to meet interesting people – including the newly elected President of the EALS, the CEO of the EALS and of the national bar associations, as well as individual lawyers – and spread the word about IBJ.

This meeting was an excellent platform to increase IBJ’s work visibility across East africa, launch the IBJ East Africa project and to reassert IBJ’s commitment to improving the legal system and legal integration in East Africa.

Above: IBJ Rwanda Fellow John Bosco Bugingo (left) and Burundi Fellow Astère Muyango (right) meet with the EALS CEO Tito Byenkya (middle) (Photo by Janvier Ncamatwi).

Above: IBJ Burundi Fellows Astère Muyango and Janvier Ncamatwi congratulate the new President of the EALS (far left) (Photo by Aline Nijimbere).

Above: IBJ Rwanda and Burundi Fellows pose with the CEO of the EALS (far left) and the Burundi expert of the drafting committee of the IBJ/EALS defense manual (far right) (Photo by Aline Nijimbere).

Above: The newly elected committee of the EALS (Photo by Astère Muyango).

The content of the manual will be jointly developed by an international expert in the field of criminal defense and a team of local experts, nominated by the national Bar associations, who are best poised to make sure that cultural and country-specific issues are tackled in the manual.  The manual will outline best practices and advocacy techniques with a focus on enhancing legal knowledge, practical defense skills – particularly trial skills, education on international norms and standards and some examples of their domestic implementation in all five countries. It will include practical tips about ways to mount a vigorous defense and include forms, checklists, and memos to help lawyers prepare and manage their cases.

It will be distributed through the national Bar Associations of the member countries and will be available online on the EALS website and IBJ’s Elearning platform. A French version will also be made available for Francophone lawyers in Rwanda and Burundi. We expect the first draft of the manual to be completed by April 2011.

Download the IBJ English/French Legal Lexicon

IBJ is committed to contributing to the growing regional integration in other ways aswell. On November 19 and 20, the EALS is hosting its Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Bujumbura, Burundi. IBJ Rwanda and Burundi Fellows John Bosco and Astère and IBJ Burundian Legal Fellows Aline Nijimbere and Janvier Ncamatwi will participate in the lively discussions that will undoubtedly take place, strengthening the relationship with the East Africa legal community. Furthermore, IBJ has produced a glossary of English/French legal terms for the use of East Africa Francophone lawyers which will facilitate the integration of Rwanda and Burundi into the Anglophone East Africa Community. We are hoping to distribute copies of the glossary at the EALS AGM.

Furthermore, this cooperation is an excellent opportunity for IBJ to establish a base to promote access to legal counsel and human rights across East African countries. With this project we have laid the first foundations for a possible East Africa Defender Resource Hub which will support – both at the national and regional level – criminal defender trainings as well as the implementation of coordinated answers to the challenges of the criminal justice system  throughout East Africa. This way, we will reduce the prevalence of torture in pretrial detention and help the accused in East Africa. Therefore, we are very excited to kickstart the development of the manual and future cooperation in East Africa and thank the International Bar Association for their support.

Above: John Bosco (left), IBJ Rwanda Fellow and Astère (right), IBJ Burundi Fellow at the EALS 2009 AGM where the foundations for cooperation between the EALS and IBJ were laid

Above: Astère (left) and Bruce Kyerere, the Uganda Law Society President at the 2009 EALS AGM (Photo by John Bosco Bugingo)

Above: Astère (right) with Dr. Fauz Twaib, the Tanzania Law Society President at the 2009 EALS AGM (Photo by John Bosco Bugingo)

One of the difficulties that came up in the discussions was the need to travel long distances repeatedly, especially because cases can take up to ten court hearings before being resolved. Also, the lack of access to legal resources in print and on the internet has been highlighted as a difficulty by some of the Task Force members. IBJ is striving to fill this gap by providing visitors to the DRC with the opportunity to use a new desktop computer to conduct online legal resource and access IBJ’s eLearning platform. A collection of human rights and criminal law books kindly donated by Book Aid International is on its way.

Members of the Task Force were interested in improving their legal English skills at the DRC and on IBJ’s online Legal Training Resource Center. This is important, particularly in the context of the growing regional integration which requires use of legal English and familiarity with the adversarial system in force in the vast majority of the East African countries. Lawyers highlighted defender capacity building and regular mentoring sessions as a core strategy to help ensure greater quality of legal counsel throughout the proceedings. In this regard, they will find the new glossary developed by IBJ, translating legal jargon from French to English, very useful.

The discussions also emphasized the need for continuous education and awareness-raising among the public to help them demand their rights, in particular their right to a lawyer in case of arrest. Members of the Task Force committed to systematically inform their clients and detainees of their basic legal rights while conducting prison visits. Intensified education of prison wardens and officials was also identified as a strategy to ensure increased access to legal aid.  By addressing these issues, the Task Force members are closing the gap in legal aid provision in criminal cases, as the Government-sponsored legal aid centers called Maisons d’ Accès a la Justice primarily focus on civil cases.

Following up on the need to create a tighter connection between the Task Force and the DRC, two particularly dedicated, outspoken and determined Task Force members – Mary Katushabe and Olivier Gatabazi – were elected Task Force representatives by the rest of the lawyers over the course of the meeting. Both display an unwavering commitment to criminal legal aid: of the six cases that Olivier is handling on behalf of IBJ none of them is financially supported; and as for Mary, she is representing eighteen indigents on behalf of IBJ and is fully supported for only seven of them. The two representatives will act as liaison between the Task Force members and the DRC, thus ensuring the constant flow of communication between the lawyers and IBJ. The Task Force Justice Café discussion that took place on the 30^th of September proved to be valuable in identifying key challenges and possible solutions and maintaining the momentum among the volunteer lawyers who have already assisted 135 detainees, with on-going mentoring from IBJ Rwanda Fellow. This will ultimately ensure that the criminally accused get the most professional and best defense possible and will bring Rwanda one step closer to IBJ’s mission of ensuring that every man, woman and child accused of a crime has effective access to legal counsel.

The next Task Force meeting will take place on November 26^th. In the meantime, the volunteer lawyers will participate in group or one-on-one mentoring sessions at the DRC where newly-minted lawyers will be able to learn “on the job”. We are excited that the Task Force members are recognized as contributing to and promoting positive change in the criminal justice system. They are motivated to continue on this course and even find possible funding sources for legal aid pilot projects.

On August 11th 2010, Dative took on the case of a 27 year-old-man accused of rape. The man, whom we will refer to as Mark, is an impoverished cattle keeper. He was accused of raping a neighbor’s daughter. The key witness told police she had seen the girl in Mark’s bedroom holding money worth 50 Frw, the purpose of which was to buy her silence to her parents.

Mark was arrested by the police on July 2nd, 2010. He spent over a month in custody without ever meeting a lawyer and with no hope of being summoned to court. Then, the key witness came to visit Mark to apologize for having lied to the authorities and wrongfully accused him. She confessed that she had been promised 20,000 Frw by the victim’s father.

As Mark was facing a life sentence, Dative came across his case during one of her routine visits to the prison where he was being held to search for prisoners in need of legal aid. She read the medical statements in Mark’s file, which provided evidence that the crime had never been committed: medical tests on the young girl showed no signs of sexual intercourse.

Dative went on to solicit a trial date, and although the court calendar always seems fully booked, she was lucky enough to secure an August 26th date. The trial was subsequently subject to further delay, but this allowed Dative to compile compelling evidence against the prosecution’s case.

On the trial day of September 2nd, the case was heard, and that same day Mark was able to walk home following his acquittal. This victory – winning an innocent man’s life back – is one case among many that have given the volunteer legal defense team the courage to continue to fight.

Dative at the Kigali CDRC

When I arrived at the main gate the first thing the guards asked me for was my identification. They also asked if I was a lawyer. Later, I spoke with one of the lawyers who had come to visit a prisoner, and she told me that all lawyers are allowed to enter freely into the prison except on Fridays.

I often see prisoners doing community work around town in pink and orange uniforms but I was amazed to find out what each colour meant. Prisoners in orange are already serving their sentence. Those in pink are either waiting to be given a trial date or waiting for the judgment. This was insightful to learn.

Some prisoners were playing but some looked devastated and sick, with no medical attention.

There were a lot of activities going on in the prison. Some prisoners were digging and building things. I asked some prisoners how they eat and who cooks for them, and I learned that they have regular meals such as breakfast, lunch and supper. Fellow prisoners take turns cooking in shifts. It was quite impressive to see them working together.

I learned that many of the prisoners are deeply religious. One of the prisoners who I was able to talk to told me that many detainees have become “saved” since they have been in prison. There is a Mosque and a church in the prison; and from time to time Sheik and Pastors come in to preach.

As I walked around the prison, I learned that some prisoners don’t live together. There are blocks for young children under 18 years and another block for adults. When it comes to women who were imprisoned when they were pregnant, they give birth in the prison and live with their new born baby until the child is around 5 years old. Then the child is taken to the mothers’ relatives; and if she does not have a family the kid is taken to an orphanage.

From this quick visit it seems like prisoners get regular meals, some prisoners are employed, but it is true that some facilities are being under looked like medication for prisoners and women who live with their kids until they are 5 years old.

Mary has been practicing law for less than two years. She has attended two Legal Defense and Human Rights training events hosted by the IBJ Rwanda Program. She has been outspoken in both, never fearing to initiate a debate when judicial expediency is valued over human rights concerns. She has agreed to volunteer with IBJ, and has already taken many cases. It is the dedication of people like Mary that make the work of IBJ possible.

Above: Mary Katushabe – IBJ Rwanda Legal Defender (Photo by Patrick Pratt)

In July, Mary took the case of a young lady, an orphan, who has been accused of infanticide. The young girl, whom we will refer to as Hope, had been taken in by a family after both of her parents died. She fled the household after repeated mistreatment by the adoptive father. After leaving, Hope learned that she was pregnant. She had few people to whom she could turn. Upon approaching the boy whom she claims impregnated her, he denied his involvement in the conception. Prenatal or maternal care for most young girls in such dire situations is widely unavailable in Rwanda. Coupled with poor living conditions and insufficient nutrition, the incidence of miscarriage or premature birth among young girls is high. Young, uneducated, and destitute, Hope had few good options.

To secure a livelihood and stable housing, many young girls in Rwanda undertake domestic work. Hope took employment with another household, yet over time became too weak to perform her duties. She describes the mistreatment she received from the father of the household as worse than she received at her previous residence.

One day, Hope went to the toilet room thinking that she was experiencing digestive pains. As soon as she positioned over the toilet basin, the baby began to come out. Hope claims that when she realized this, she tried to stand up and go outside. In the process, the baby somehow exited and fell into a bucket of water in the toilet room. The baby died, and Hope was arrested shortly thereafter.

The initial charge levied against Hope was abortion. This was later changed to infanticide. Hope has been imprisoned since April, 2008; and made her first court appearance in June, 2010. Mary has taken the case as an IBJ volunteer.

The story of Hope is one of choice and circumstance. She was in one of the most desperate situations in which any young girl can find herself: She has no family, no means, and was then in a situation which would have brought another life into the same circumstances. Hope could depend on no one, and then found herself in the position of having another life dependent upon her. The story of Hope represents the difficult choices people must make and the difficult circumstances with which they must deal.

Above: Mary and her peers at the 2009 IBJ/KBA legal defense training in Kigali. (Photo by Jesse Blaisdell)

Whether the death of the newborn was accidental or intentional, there is no justice as long as Hope is kept behind bars, voiceless, without a trial for two years. Mary is committed to ensuring that people such as Hope are afforded due process under Rwandan Law. And as long as such cases keep justice out of reach of the vulnerable and destitute IBJ will offer its unconditional support to dedicated defenders such as Mary Katushabe.

Since its inception, the IBJ Rwanda Program was housed at the firm of the IBJ Country Fellow, Bugingo – “JB” to those who know him -with the patient acquiescence of his partners. The office kept long hours, as he transitioned seamlessly between the roles of public defender and IBJ Fellow.

The opening of the DRC is a significant achievement, and represents one of four components of the IBJ-Rwanda program. The purpose of the DRC is to provide a forum for public defenders to access legal resources, prepare cases, and seek advisement from IBJ criminal defense experts. The DRC is funded with a grant from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

The IBJ-Rwanda program also includes provisions for a criminal defense task force, which in partnership with the Kigali Bar Association and the Ministry of Justice, seeks to improve Rwanda’s legal aid capacity. Before opening the DRC, IBJ-Rwanda successfully conducted the first of many national campaigns intended to educate the citizenry of their basic legal rights. Also, the program seeks to create a core of well-trained defense lawyers through a series of special training events – the second of which occurs on July 2nd and 3rd. These are ambitious projects, which the opening of the IBJ-Rwanda Headquarters and DRC is intended to facilitate.

As the nation prepares to celebrate during the upcoming holidays, the IBJ-Rwanda staff, volunteers, and associates are continuing to pursue their mandate: to fundamentally change defense practices in Rwanda to ensure that the legal system benefits its citizens. Though less monumental than Rwanda’s Independence and Liberation Day Commemorations, the opening of the Kigali DRC is surely also worth celebrating.

Above: Building in Remera, Kigali which houses IBJ-Rwanda DRC. (Photo by Hadijah Batamuriza)

Above: Rwanda Country Fellow John Bosco Bugingo (right) and DRC Coordinator Hadijah Batamuriza (left) (Photo by Patrick Pratt)

Above: Patrick Pratt – IBJ Rwanda intern, summer 2010 (Photo by Hadijah Batamuriza)