Dear editor,Today, Rwanda is considered among the few countries with less number of street children. In addition, the good news is that, the government has played an important role to restore their bright future. However, it is also true to say that, the children in question are an example of the country’s past bad leadership. History has it that bad governance and violation of human rights were part of the past regimes. A good number of these street children are orphans of the 1994 Genocide, some of them were orphaned by Aids, and while others escaped their homes due to the violation of their rights by their own parents or caretakers. This time around, I will not claim much concern in this topic, but rather the way these children are treated. My grievance follows an incident that happened at the commercial centre in Kigali where the policemen literary ran after two street kids with canes, forcing them into a police vehicle. However, what was noticed at the time, was the energy that local defence people used to make the kids board the vehicle was really too much. We all appreciate Kigali City Council’s (KCC’s) idea of rehabilitating street children, but the power and energy used should be a little bit minimized, or other means should be applied, because these are also human beings whose fundamental rights should be respected. In other words, they should not be dragged as if they are animals being taken for slotting. It is therefore, apparent that the concerned authorities, addresses the plight of these children. The issue is not sufficiently addressed today. Exposing them to a harsh and brutal life would only modify them into robbers or mafias. These children are brilliant, and have a life to leave and work for their country. So, let them be supported to join other Rwandans in the reconstruction of the nation. Nyamirambo
