Editor, RE: “Rwanda’s defying policy of equal rights and opportunities - my testimony” (The New Times, April 14). Much as I was deeply saddened and grieved to read the testimony of Frida Umuhoza, a Genocide survivor, I am equally amazed and astonished to read the testimony of Nelly Mukazayire — a child of a Genocide perpetrator — who, today, is Deputy Chief of Staff to President Paul Kagame. I can well imagine the utter shock and disbelief which crossed the mind and heart of Ms. Mukazayire in 1996, then a teenager, when she saw the picture of her very own mother in a newspaper under the headline, “Famous Interahamwe captured”. What a radical transformation it must have been when Ms. Mukazayire instantly became the child of a Genocide perpetrator from being the child of a Tutsi father. It is said that “truth will always prevail” and Ms. Mukazayire realised that she had to face the hard truth and the reality with fortitude and determination. She has done just that so as to reach the high position she presently holds in the Office of the President. As President Kagame said, “We cannot turn the clock back nor can we undo the harm caused, but we have the power to determine the future and to ensure that what happened never happens again”. It is only a resilient and a “Remarkable Rwanda” with a very clear policy of equal rights and opportunities for all, which has enabled Nelly Mukazayire, and so many others, to put the sad past behind them and march forward for a better tomorrow. The beauty of Rwanda lies not just in the thousand verdant hills, but more importantly in the robust Government policies designed to ensure the rights and justice for one and all, and in the people who, on their part, are committed to working hand in hand with the Government to ensure peace and prosperity for themselves, while simultaneously contributing to the growth and development of the country. Clarence Fernandes
