MAKAMBA August 28th (ABP) – The institution of the Burundi Ombudsman organized on Wednesday August 26, in the headquarters of Makamba province (southern Burundi), an awareness-raising workshop for legal institutions in Makamba on the role of justice in conflict prevention, a check on the site by the ABP has revealed.
The Burundi Ombudsman, Mr. Edouard Nduwimana, indicated that the workshop is being organized at a time when Burundi has just put in place leading institutions, from the base to the top, via the election process launched in May 2020. He made know that this activity is organized to remind legal institutions of their predominant role in safeguarding peace and security through fair, independent and transparent justice at those opportune times when the Burundians in refugee camps in neighboring countries return in their homeland.
Mr. Nduwimana called on the judiciary not to obstruct the implementation of the government’s program on the pretext of being independent. There is a nuance between the work of legal institutions and the office of the ombudsman because, he stressed, all those institutions are there to establish justice, and the Ombudsman has the right to appeal to the Head of State in the event of failure of a justice official.
Ombudsman Nduwimana advised them to execute judgments in time to avoid possible conflicts. He recalled that judges and magistrates are pillars of the implementation of the government’s program and that they must reduce the grumbling of the people because, he said, the survey showed that more than 60% of the people say that justice is the source of conflicts in Burundian society.
The inspector of justice, Mr. Ernest Nyabenda, during his presentation, asked the justice to put forward the trials of the defendants and detainees because, according to him, the principle is that everyone is free, while the detention is an exception. Returning to the presumption of innocence, he urged the authorized authorities not to display the photos of the presumed in the newspapers.
The participants called on the Ombudsman’s office to ensure that working conditions, in particular those of the courts of residence, are improved in terms of means of travel to speed up the execution of judgments.
The governor of Makamba, Mrs. Françoise Ngozirazana, indicated that land conflicts are observed in Makamba province. He encourages collaboration between the administration, the Ombudsman institution and legal institutions.