Editor,

RE: "Africa must stand united against universal jurisdiction abuse” (The New Times, August 6).

Africa’s failure to make its voice heard at the international level; to ensure her fundamental interests are fully taken on board rather than given the back of the hand have less to do with lack of means and more with political will.

Everything starts and ends with political will. We could in fact say even the lack of means is a function of lack of political will. Otherwise how would you explain that Rwanda, with its meagre resources, is able to find the means to do what she has done — modest as that might be in the wider scheme of things, but certainly extraordinary at many levels - in such an exceptionally short time.

Where there is will, and vision to match, there will almost always be a way.

But first, Africans, especially those in leadership and our intellectual classes, will need to emancipate themselves from continuing to be held in thrall to the superiority of non-African interests, sometimes insidiously, without even realizing they often think and act in ways that are fundamentally contrary to their own interests.

They need to start putting their own people first, second, and last and in a meaningful sense, not just pay lip service to this ideal. For, without question, this is where the struggle to give real meaning to African liberation is always lost.

Without a thoroughly decolonization of our minds and our spirits, we shall remain trapped into a subservient role to others’ interests, forever fed crumbs from the tables of our masters comfortably feasting on the resources of our lands and the sweat of our labours.

Mwene Kalinda