ABSTRACT
Rwanda's institutional legacies of oppression and exclusion are manifest in the type of government that emerged in the country after the genocide. Despite the occurrence of some episodes of violence, the 2005 elections were largely considered by international observers to be free and fair. Keeping to its rebel roots, the party most often relies on violence and intimidation as a way to settle political disputes. For a time at least, the events surrounding the 2015 election demonstrated that Burundi clearly remained a hybrid democracy - one which turned to institutional solutions to resolve some problems; violence to resolve others. Consequently, scholars such as Reyntjens and others suggest that it is far too early in the game to suggest that the consociational system has consolidated in Burundi. There is another crucial aspect of peacebuilding in Burundi that is worth assessing: achieving justice for the victims of the conflict (both past and present).
