To state that the 1994 Rwandan genocide was one of the most horrific catastrophes that occurred in the 20th century is to restate the obvious. This thesis is an analytical exploration of the root causes of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. It explains how Tutsi became non-indigenous Hamities and how Hutu became native indigenous, leaving the two populations to be identified along racial and ethnic lines. In 1933, the Belgians introduced identity cards which specified one‟s ethnic affiliation, giving birth to political identities as Hutu and Tutsi ceased to become cultural identities and became political identities. The identities of Hutu and Tutsi were not only legally enforced, but they also became linked to the governance of the state. Tutsi was now associated with state power and domination, while Hutu was linked with suppression and discrimination. Independent Rwanda, the Hutu took over power and continued to subscribe to some of the colonial racists ideologies and maintained Tutsi and Hutu as political identities. The once oppressed Hutu became the oppressor, whilst the once dominate Tutsi became the oppressed. The victim group construction theories were used in this study to examine the ills of race-branding in independent Rwanda. The Hutu regimes of the First Republic (1962-1973) and the Second Republic (1973-1994), failed to go beyond the colonist‟s strategy of divide and rule and instead continued to apply this racist ideology to bring justice to the Hutu, which turned into revenge for the Tutsi. Hence, this study analysis and evaluates how the citizenship and political identity crisis led to the 1994 Rwandan genocide. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

Justice and reconciliation are both highly complex concepts that are often described as incompatible alternatives in the aftermath of violent conflicts, despite the fact that both are fundamental to peacebuilding in societies divided by the legacies of political violence, oppression and exclusion. This thesis examines the relationship between justice and reconciliation, pursued as essential ingredients of peacebuilding. After advancing an inclusive working conceptual framework in which seemingly competing conceptions regarding justice and reconciliation are reconceived to work compatibly for building peace, the thesis presents the results of an in-depth case study of Rwanda's post-genocide justice and reconciliation endeavour. The thesis focuses on Rwanda's justice and reconciliation efforts and their relationship to the ongoing challenge of reformulating Rwandans' social identities. A field research conducted for this study revealed that issues of victimhood, justice and reconciliation were highly contested among individuals and groups with varied experiences of the country's violent history. Resolving these conflicting narratives so that each Rwandan's narrative/identity is dissociated from the negation of the other's victimhood emerged as a paramount challenge in Rwanda's quest for justice and reconciliation. Rwanda's approach to justice and reconciliation can be seen as an innovative both/and approach that seeks to overcome dichotomous thinking by addressing various justice and reconciliation concerns in compatible ways. However, by limiting its efforts to the issues that arose from crimes committed under the former regimes, the justice and reconciliation endeavour of the Rwandan government fails to reconcile people's conflicting narratives of victimhood, which will be essential to transform the existing racialised and politicised ethnic identities of Rwandan people.

Justice and reconciliation are both highly complex concepts that are often described as incompatible alternatives in the aftermath of violent conflicts, despite the fact that both are fundamental to peacebuilding in societies divided by the legacies of political violence, oppression and exclusion. This thesis examines the relationship between justice and reconciliation, pursued as essential ingredients of peacebuilding. After advancing an inclusive working conceptual framework in which seemingly competing conceptions regarding justice and reconciliation are reconceived to work compatibly for building peace, the thesis presents the results of an in-depth case study of Rwanda¿s post-genocide justice and reconciliation endeavour. The thesis focuses on Rwanda¿s justice and reconciliation efforts and their relationship to the ongoing challenge of reformulating Rwandans¿ social identities. A field research conducted for this study revealed that issues of victimhood, justice and reconciliation were highly contested among individuals and groups with varied experiences of the country¿s violent history. Resolving these conflicting narratives so that each Rwandan¿s narrative/identity is dissociated from the negation of the other¿s victimhood emerged as a paramount challenge in Rwanda¿s quest for justice and reconciliation. Rwanda¿s approach to justice and reconciliation can be seen as an innovative both/and approach that seeks to overcome dichotomous thinking by addressing various justice and reconciliation concerns in compatible ways. However, by limiting its efforts to the issues that arose from crimes committed under the former regimes, the justice and reconciliation endeavour of the Rwandan government fails to reconcile people¿s conflicting narratives of victimhood, which will be essential to transform the existing racialised and politicised ethnic identities of Rwandan people. / Foundation for Advanced Studies on International Development (FASID)

This work is a contextual study of five selected biblical texts from the Fourth Gospel: John 2:1-12 and John 19:25-29; John 4:1-42; John 11:1-12:1-11 and John 18:15-17. Its aim is to read the selected texts with a Rwandan woman’s eyes, focusing on her peacemaking role and her potential as an agent of reconciliation. It is motivated by the context of the Rwandan situation during and after the catastrophic genocide of 1994. This work seeks to open the eyes of Rwandan women toward the role of peacemaking and unity-building by using a combined approach to conflict resolution. This approach includes the application of some theories in the domain of sociology, as well as the contextual biblical approach. Thus, it combines the capacity of awareness of conflicts in the community and its pain in the victim, and strives to restore the broken relationship caused by the conflict. The reading of the biblical texts with Rwandan eyes and the dialogue with the texts pointed out that the women used some tools in the gospel for success in the role of peacemaking and peace-building in their communities. The main tools are listed in the data findings of the exegesis. But mainly the transcendence of conflictual myths of origin to with kinship ties was found to be a major tool for breaking the kind of barriers which could lead to genocide. This research also highlights the failure of women in that domain because of their lack of transcendence of obligations based on regional and kinship ties. They fail to display their ubumuntu and their ubunyampinga. They rather point fingers at the victims instead of siding with or shielding them. Various suggestions are made for women to play a successful role in bringing about true and lasting peace and reconciliation, pointing out some ways in which Rwandan women can help to restore unity and trust among the population. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.