Kigali — All Gacaca cases in hearing will be completed by the end of 2008, said the Minister of Justice, Tharcise Karugarama at a plenary session of the senate.

Karugarama who addressed a plenary session of the Senate on Thursday said, although new cases have been reported, he remains optimistic that most of them will be prosecuted by the end of this year.On being questioned by Senator Wellars Gasamagyera whether Gacaca will bring about reconciliation among Banyarwanda, Karugarama said that one cannot speculate about the ultimate outcome of the Gacaca process.

However, he said that there are enough signals for positive results that will help to foster national reconciliation among Rwandans.

The minister confirmed that many people who participated in Genocide are coming out to confess their deed, which he said is partly why death penalty was considered for revision.

Both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate have approved the abolishment of this law, only waiting for the presidential signature and will soon become history.

Senators however, raised complaints about the corrupt officials within the Gacaca system and other local authorities. Karugarama said such officials have always been sacked whenever found guilty.

Senators advised that cases shouldn't be rushed because of deadlines which might lead to unfair justice.

Further recommendation was that foreigners especially from Burundi who participated in the Genocide and fled back be investigated and brought to trial.