We should not expect justice from hypocrites

RE: “Come what may, Rwandans will never tire to seek justice” (The New Times, July 30).

Tuesday, August 01, 2017

Editor, RE: "Come what may, Rwandans will never tire to seek justice” (The New Times, July 30).

I for one draw some positives from this, and I hope my fellow Rwandans do too: There is extreme dissonance between rhetoric and actual behaviour where many of these countries that love holding themselves up to the rest of us as the perfect benchmarks for justice, respect for international treaty obligations and exemplars of human rights.

Rwandans can never expect justice from people who have made hypocrisy an art form, for what they preach and what they practice are more often the mirror opposites of each other.

Revert to the lesson so painfully learned from their behaviour around the Genocide for crimes of which these suspects' extradition has been sought all these so many years: Rwandans can expect justice and salvation only from our own efforts, nobody else cares for you and your welfare. It has been made amply clear by experience all the way from the era of colonialism and Catholic Church domination of our affairs together with its lot of horrors, all the way through the Genocide and its aftermath.

Don't ever expect succor from anybody else; as our people have always said, 'ak’imuhana kaza imvura ihise.' Mwene Kalinda