In April 1994 Rwanda encountered the most gruesome political conflict, which was widely motivated by decades of ethnic tension, and resulted in the massive participation of ordinary Hutus slaughtering Tutsis, who are a minority along with the so-called moderate Hutus. Large numbers of ordinary Rwandans became killers, some willingly and some by force. About one million Rwandans, mostly Tutsis, lost their lives during the killings. Hence this historic event was declared to be genocide. The post-genocide government of Paul Kagame has been faced with the mission not only to reconcile the nation but also to forge a justice system that will assure Rwandans and those who committed crimes of genocide and crimes against humanity will be punished appropriately. It is outmost important to note that emphasis on justice in cases such as Rwandan genocide might be seen to be most desirable to victims in particular. This idea can be more dangerous particularly if the process takes place in an atmosphere which is characterised by political environment which is oppressive and autocratic. Realising the complexity of the conflict and inability of the conventional justice system to in dealing with the massive cases of people alleged to have participated in the killings or committed crime of genocide. The victims impatiently sought not only justice but answers to what has happened to their loved ones. On the other hand those labeled as perpetrators also wanted to clear their names since some of them believed that they were wrongfully accused and the process was taking too long. The Rwandan government was left with no option and decided to reintroduce the traditional justice system called the Gacaca. The Gacaca system was not only pioneered to render justice to the victims and those wrongfully accused but to reconcile as well as bring peace to the Rwandan society. This study is therefore aimed at providing a comprehensive and compelling explanation of the process and the operations of the Gacaca tribunals. Thus by means of both historical and empirical analysis, the study hopes to determine the challenges confronting the system and the promise it holds, if any, and to recommend the need to adopt and adapt to an approach which is wider and more integrated in dealing with reconciliation in the region. To accomplish this study, data was predominantly sourced from primary sources such as media reports and personal interviews with Rwandan community living in Durban, South Africa. The study revealed that the Rwandan genocide was marked by overwhelming public participation which makes Rwandan conflict even more complex. Killing was seen as work, as well as fulfilling the country's duty. On the other hand not killing was viewed as betrayal especially for thousands of peasants. Almost the entire population took part in the killings. The Gacaca is a unique approach of trying genocide perpetrators adopted in Rwanda. In this thesis I argue that it is through examination of different historical and social factors that the relevance of the Gacaca can be assessed. Furthermore my argument is that Rwanda needs a multi-faceted approach to confront complex problems that it faces politically and socially. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.

In 1999, aged eighteen, I read 'The Brothers Karamazov' by Dostoevsky. I read this novel in Burundi, where I witnessed the suffering of others. The country's basic problem was civil war, which is best described in this terse note: "Rwanda, the sequel. Same story, different location. Nobody cares." The well-publicised problems in Rwanda in 1994 didn't end, they went next-door. The only thing separating the problems of those two countries was the most heavily landmined stretch of road on the planet. It was on this road, which was littered with the remains of vehicles and people, that I experienced the immediacy of 'the problem of evil'.I had hoped that the book I held in my hands on those lifetime-long hours on the road would resonate with my experience. Ivan Karamazov's accusation of the God who creates a world of atrocities seemed fuelled by an unflinching look at senseless, disteleological suffering. I had hoped that Ivan, with his face turned against God, could countenance the horror I saw. Karamazov's stance has been seen as the antithesis of theodicy, which is the attempt to reconcile faith in God with the existence of evil. This antithesis seems to overcome the distance between the experience of real suffering and the account of that suffering given by academic theodicy. Ultimately, however, that distance remains. Dostoevsky's protagonist in his railing against God connects no more with the victims in this world than a writer of theodicy does with her defence of God.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Technology: Public Management (Peacebuilding), Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2015. / One of the major issues following the genocide in Rwanda in 1994 was what to do with the huge number of people (around 100 000) accused of crimes during the genocide. Western legal approaches dealt with a handful of such cases at huge expense but the vast majority of the accused languished in prison. The government decided to employ a modified version of Gacaca - the traditional way of dealing with disputes and lower level crimes at community level. Using a qualitative research methodology and employing focus groups and individual interviews as data collection tools, this research investigate perceptions about the operation of Gacaca in three Rwandan communities, with particular reference to truth, justice, forgiveness and reconciliation. The research suggests that in the three communities, Gacaca was seen as bringing the truth out into the open and to provide a measure of justice, although limitations were noted in both of these respects. Given the enormity of the genocide crimes, however, there seemed to be little progress in the areas of forgiveness and reconciliation. / M

This Thesis is an analytical investigation of the i mpact of the 1994 Rwandan genocide in the Great Lakes Region of Africa. It focuses on the vio lent conflicts and instability that marked the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), particularl y the eastern DRC region since 1996- 2006. The DRC hosted about 1.25 million Rwandan Hut u refugees (including the ex-Forces Armeés Rwandaises and Hutu militiamen) following the hundred atrocio us days of the 1994 genocide under Hutu-led government in Rwanda. This study assesses rigorously the role of the 1994 Rwandan Hutu refugees in the eastern DRC c onflicts. The theoretical framework of this research is the E rvin Staub’s Basic Needs perspective. This theoretical model provides an analytical tool to ex amine a myriad of factors underlying mass violence and genocide. Factors such as difficult li fe conditions, group cultural history, social psychological factors and context create an enhance d potential for movement along a path of violent conflicts with hallmarks including moral ex clusion, stigmatization, dehumanization and impunity. The tool of qualitative textual analy sis of relevant scholarly and non-scholarly documents in the subject area is used. A whole rang e of issues comprising the conflicts in Rwanda, Burundi and DRC before and after the 1994 R wanda genocide is assessed: ethnicity, ideologies, refugees, rebel groups in DRC conflicts , socio-economical contexts. In analyzing the data I have employed content analysis. The results of this study point out that, factors s uch as difficult life conditions, ideologies of hatred, economical and political crises that marked the Great Lakes Region of Africa have created a climate conducive to conflicts. Furthermo re, the research shows that the 1994 Rwandan Hutu refugees, particularly the ex-FAR and Hutu militiamen, contributed in the escalation of violent conflicts in eastern DRC. Thi s corroborates the scholars finding that refugees are not only the unfortunate victims of co nflict and the by-product of war; they are also important political actors who can play an act ive role in conflict dynamics and instability (Salehyan 2007: 127; Collier in Furley 2006:2). The study ends with recommendations for peace and sustainable stability and development in the Great Lakes Region of Africa: comprehending and addressing thoroughly the roots c auses of conflicts, promoting and implementing policies and mechanisms for good gover nance, economic development, respect of human rights and justice, addressing effectively the issue of refugees and reconciliation. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.

Women entrepreneurship has been well-studied, over the past 30 years, in OECD countries. However, women's roles as entrepreneurs advancing economic development in war torn and post conflict countries are under-studied. Recent research conducted in Africa, and within Rwanda, has focused on listening to the voices of women enterprise leaders, but there is a gap in understanding the best models of women entrepreneurship training to create sustainable entrepreneurship curriculum relevant to local culture. This research engages 30 graduates of the 2012 Peace Through Business program using a qualitative research approach reflective of feminist theory, post colonialism and empowerment studies relevant to women entrepreneurship. Participatory Action Research methodology has been applied through a combination of an in-country forum, an electronic survey and in-depth interviews. Using the simplified version of the Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen method of data analysis, findings address whether current, Western-based women entrepreneurship training smacks of failed development efforts of traditional 20th century aid.

This study aims to explore community perceptions and understandings of Rwandan Genocide Memorials. It used selected samples of ten genocide memorials that are scattered throughout the country. Those memorial sites are Bisesero, Kamonyi, Kiziguro, Murambi, Nyamashake, Nyamata, Nyange, Nyanza, Rebero and Shyorongi. The genocide of 1994 has strongly affected Rwandans and its consequences continue to distress the social and cultural values. Today Rwanda is tirelessly committed to rebuild and restore the remnants of material and non material aspects of the country. One of the non material aspects emphasized in this research is remembrance. In building genocide memorials, Rwanda is refusing to let go unrecognized the victims of genocide. Through pictures, graphics and photographs, genocide memorials talk to the community. The population reads and interprets differently the messages genocide memorials communicate. The community's interpretation is often influenced by various personal experiences and by social, cultural, political and religious environments. The way the community reads and interprets the message of genocide memorials has the potential to influence social relationships. The approach used to discover the perceptions and interpretations of the genocide memorials messages from the community views was the functionalist theory. Manifest and latent functions helped to determine respectively the pre-defined and non-recognized functions. This theory helped to discover the dysfunctional roles of those symbols among the community. The present research is an empirical study which used a qualitative approach. It helped the researcher to describe and analyze different perceptions and understandings attributed to the genocide memorials from the ordinary people. The methodology that was used in order to achieve relevant results was focus groups and personal interviews. Through group discussions and interviews, it was discovered that genocide memorials communicate a non violent message that assist Rwandans to improve their social relationships. On the other side, genocide memorials communicate a violent message able to stand in the way of improving social relationships in the community and both poles were stressed. The third position stood between those two extreme poles. It accepted the positive and the negative effects of the messages of the genocide memorials. The themes that were identified by the respondents reflected and articulated these functional and dysfunctional consequences of genocide memorials messages in the community. Although genocide memorials are important monuments, their messages are critical to the Rwandan situation where the community relationships are still not settled. The atrocities that continue to be expressed necessitate a particular consideration in order to reduce their negative consequence. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

After the Rwandan genocide in 1994 which irrefutably imposed itself as a reference in history, many books (researches and fiction) were published exposing varied opinions and views. It is an important source which is studied by different fields of knowledge, such as linguistics, literary studies, sociology, psychology and politics. Our study aimed to analyse ties between post-genocide fictional novels on Rwanda and the history of Rwanda. The main objectives of this dissertation (La réécriture de l’histoire du Rwanda à travers la littérature post-génocide. Etude de cas de trois romans africains d’expression française) are to study how knowledge of the history can help to understand these narratives and how these narratives can shed new light on history. In order to analyse this, we did a case study of three representative novels from Francophone Africa which we analysed confronting them to some historical sources. The novels are: - Ndwaniye, Joseph, (2007), La Promesse faite à ma soeur. Bruxelles: Les impressions nouvelles; - Monénembo,Tierno, (2000), L'Aîné des orphelins. Paris: Seuil, and - Diop, Boubacar Boris, (2000), Murambi, le livre des ossements. Paris: Stock. This study is a literary analysis and used a qualitative research method though an interpretive paradigm. As a main output and an answer to one of our research questions about common points between the post-genocide literature on Rwandan and the History of Rwanda, we discovered that in fact by the treatment of time and other writing processes used by the writers, they actually rewrote six important periods in the history of Rwanda: Pre-colonial absolute monarchy, the colonialism, the first and second Republics, the genocide and the post-genocide. These periods are clearly represented in the three novels, even if this may not be the intension of the writer and may be independent to his point of view on history. Matching the present with the past helps to revisit history. It shows how the historical context plays an important role in understanding post-genocide literature on Rwanda, and seen that this literature is discussing the genocide, it ends up delivering some points of view which are important for historians. This may assist in using literature for historical purposes and vice-versa. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

No description available.

Thesis (M.A.)--Baylor University, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 65-69).

Thesis (M.A. (Political and International Studies))--Rhodes University, 2005. / A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts.