Rwanda's Inyangamugayo: Perspectives from Practitioners in the Gacaca Transitional Justice Mechanism

The *Gacaca* courts have been the subject of much academic work. Yet, few studies have examined the elected individuals who presided over *Gacaca* court trials, reflecting a broader paucity of research on local practitioners of transitional justice. Accordingly, this study asks two questions: (1) How did the *Gacaca* court judges, known as *Inyangamugayo*, perceive their duties to fight impunity and facilitate reconciliation? And (2) What challenges did the *Inyangamugayo* face as they sought to implement these duties? To address these questions, we interviewed 135 former *Inyangamugayo*. Our interviews shed light on the *Inyangamugayo*’s understandings of punishment and accountability, as well as on their perceptions of reconciliation at personal and societal levels. The interviews also illuminate the problems the *Inyangamugayo* faced while presiding over trials. Taken together, these findings contribute to scholarship on transitional justice pursuits by highlighting the perceptions and experiences of the individuals who implement transitional justice mechanisms.