The Minister of Foreign Affairs, on Wednesday, emphasized that the government will not be deterred by sentiments, over a recent shooting incident in South Africa involving Rwanda’s former Ambassador to India, Kayumba Nyamwasa, to exonerate him from the serious crimes he is accused of.

The minister made it clear that while the government sympathized with his family, the criminal charges against Nyamwasa are very serious.

And the same applies to the American Professor Peter Erlinder. Despite being released on bail, the charges against him still stand. It is important that people own up to the mistakes they make and take full responsibility of their actions.

Rwanda like any other country has laws that govern it. Those who break them should be punished accordingly. There is a competent justice system in place and people should desist from drawing conclusions based on feelings.

They should instead let the courts of law carry out their work and pass judgments.

 If individuals are suspected of committing crimes and they are not presented before the courts, it promotes a culture of impunity, which is, without question, one of the injustices that aggrieved people have had to live with.

That said, we should not rush to draw conclusions on cases which should be decided upon by the courts of law.

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