Rwanda's gacaca courts and the discovery of mass graves

This chapter examines the role of the Rwandan gacaca courts in the exhumation of mass graves and identification of victims. It recounts the process by which Genocide victims were found, exhumed and (sometimes) identified at the different stages of gacaca trials. We argue that the gacaca courts have been the structural vehicle for truth-telling after the Genocide and have, in this function and through their participatory outlook, enabled the discovery and exhumation of mass graves. Whilst the gacaca were undoubtfully the major forum between 2002-2012 for truth-telling about where victims were interred, however, challenges and uncertainties remain regarding the future discovery and burial of victims. With the end of gacaca, the search for the missing remains a gruelling task largely dependent on knowledge of the violence committed and the endurance of survivors continuing to search for their loved ones. The chapter draws on extensive fieldwork conducted since 2014.