Promoting National Cohesion in the Aftermath of Transitional Justice Systems in Post-Conflict Societies: A Comparative Case Analysis between Rwanda and Mozambique

To understand the comparative case study on national cohesion in post-conflict Rwandan and Mozambican society. It is important to contextualize the two countries and situate their different and or similar histories. Rwanda is a small land locked country located in the East Africa. It neighbors the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to the west. Uganda to the north, Burundi to the south and Tanzania to the east. The country has a population of about 11.2 million as indicated by British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The capital city is Kigali and the major languages used are Kinyarwanda (official). English, French and Swahili. Rwanda's current leader is President Mr. Paul Kagame who came to power after the genocide in 1994 after being elected as the vice president. Finally, in 2000. Parliament elected him as president and he has continued to lead the country till date. The Rwandan Franc is the official currency. Mozambique is located to the South-East coast of Africa. Her neighbors include South Africa. Swaziland. Zimbabwe and Zambia. Mozambique's population is estimated to be 24.5 million people who mainly speak Portuguese and several other indigenous languages. Currently, President Mr. Filipe Nyusi of the ruling party FRELIMO who was sworn into presidency in January 2015, leads Mozambique. The currency used is known as Metical. For the case of Mozambique. it has been almost two decades since a negotiated peace accord and amnesty law brought an end to the civil war which ravaged the country from 1976 to 1992. For Rwanda, it has been over 20 years since the genocide of 1994 took place. The above-mentioned cases are used in order to understand the aftermath of transitional justice and traditional mechanisms in promoting peace, justice and reconciliation in post conflict societies. First, we look at traditional mechanisms and transitional justice systems that have been used in post conflict societies as a means to achieve peace. Different mechanisms such as the use of amnesty law, local courts and other traditional rituals. Mobekk (2005) states that transitional justice mechanisms may take a number of forms. Most prominently these include the International Criminal Court (ICC), international tribunals, special courts, truth commissions, local courts and traditional methods of justice. Local courts and traditional mechanisms of justice are the focal points of the thesis. Secondly, the thesis analyzes different methods of transitional justice in post-conflict societies by using the examples of Rwanda and Mozambique while building on the assumption that some form of transitional justice is essential for reconciliation, future stability and peace. Thirdly, a literature review is used to offer a firsthand perspective providing data on the aftermath of transitional justice in Rwanda and Mozambique. Finally, the findings of this thesis, will be used to analyze the significance and the different areas of application for the benefit of institutions and academia. A research methodology is used in the form of secondary data collection so to assist in collecting relevant research material.