Kigali — The heavy rains that have for the past week been pouring down over most of Rwanda, though welcomed by farmers, was a source of concern for the functioning of the Gacaca courts, most of which take place in the open.

"It is a real problem because very few Gacaca courts are held indoors", said Augustin Nkusi, head of the legal department of the National Service of Gacaca jurisdictions, which is in charge of the tribunals.

The statutes of the tribunals state that it is the ministry of local government which is charged with finding a place to house the Gacaca courts.

The ministry will be hard pressed to fulfil its obligations since a majority of the lower level of administrative units (cells) - which fall under the ministry-, have no offices.

"It is a question of not having enough means but we are going to solve the problem as we go along. Donors are not enthusiastic", said Nkusi. The country has a total of 12,103 Gacaca courts.

The weekly meetings of these tribunals- which are inspired by the traditional courts- take place in the open, and most of the time under the shade of trees.The trials are immediately adjourned once it begins raining.

Some parts of the country had the uncanny idea of holding the trials under makeshift "plastic sheeting" but these are not very resistant to winds and rain.

"We are very much aware of the problems but the people of Rwanda have resolved to make the trials succeed", Nkusi stated.

According to a Rwandan observer who requested not to be named, the rainy season might also have a negative impact on the mobilisation of the population.

"It became obvious during the Gacaca pilot phase that during the rainy seasons, people preferred working on the farms to participating in Gacaca", he explained.

"To make matters worse, these rains have fallen after a long spell drought that even caused some families to emigrate. People need to go back and work", said the observer.

"A single day in a week can not prevent people from going around their daily work", pitched in Kabisa, a judge in the of the Gacaca jurisdictions in a Kigali neighbourhood. He was however quick to recognize that "the lack of shelter is a big problem"

The Gacaca tribunals go through two phases; investigations and the actual trials.

Most of the tribunals are still in the investigative stage where the participation of every adult is mandatory, failure to which they may be punished.

Once the trials have started, attendance is not compulsory apart from witnesses and those accused.