Kigali — The semi-traditional Gacaca courts, which were given the task of trying the majority of those suspected to have taken part in the 1994 genocide, have sentenced 179 suspects and acquitted one since the trials opened two weeks ago.

Official sources in Kigali told Hirondelle News Agency Tuesday that the acquittal and the sentencing of 34 of the accused took place March 10, the first day of trials.

"As of March 23, we had managed to wrap up 180 cases", said Anastase Balinda, head of the documentation unit in the National Service of Gacaca Jurisdictions (NSGJ).

"So far, the sentences passed range between one and 30 years in jail", he said, adding that the trials of another 126 were still going on. 30 years is the maximum sentence that can be passed by the tribunals.

"Five people so far have been given the maximum sentence", revealed Balinda.

Most of those who were tried in the first two weeks were those who had confessed to their crimes earlier.

"The majority of confessions were considered to be complete and accepted by the judges in most trials", continued the Gacaca official.

The Gacaca jurisdictions have since they were set up three years ago, been mostly preoccupied with investigations. The start of the Gacaca pilot trials were delayed on many occasions.

The Gacaca judicial system is inspired by the traditional Rwandan courts where the village elders and wise men solved disputes while sitting on a grass mound (called Gacaca in Kinyarwanda) in a public square.

This "participatory justice system" has been given a triple mission by the Rwandan government of bringing out the truth, judging and helping in reconciliation.

Gacaca judges are not professional jurists, but are elected from within the community based on their moral integrity, although they have all undergone basic legal training.