Editor,

Refer to the story, "Agathe Uwiringiyimana: A heroine unfortunate to have lived in evil era” (The New Times, May 6). It was reported that "The late PM Agathe Uwingiriyimana was a high school teacher, then a lecturer at the National University of Rwanda and finally the first female Prime Minister in Rwanda’s history”.

Going by the aforementioned, it is safe to conclude that she was one of the few intellectuals in the country at the time. She was not only an intellectual but was also kind at heart and fair in mind about human equality by law and by nature.

But during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, equality and humanity were trampled upon by those perpetrators. Unfortunately, even those regarded as elite got themselves involved with the killings.  For instance, more than 500 Tutsi lecturers and administrative staff, and many university students were killed by the so-called "intellectual” Hutu.

I admire late Uwiringiyimana’s courage and determination during that critical and difficult time.

Yonas, Addis Ababa,Ethiopia