As the French idiom that President Kagame once used in his rare French moment goes: Les faits sont têtus (there is no getting away with facts). There was this popular wall poster years ago that went; “Never argue with a fool, people might not notice the difference”, and today it still holds true. Sometimes, during those unending debates on Rwanda’s alleged poor record, it is always better to let facts speak for themselves. Last night, at the United States Institute of Peace, the annual report on the state of rule of law was released and one can be sure some blood pressure is going to shoot up. The Rule of Law Index compiled by the World Justice Project debunks many of the narratives out there. It not only ranks Rwanda 37th out of 128 countries, it ranks it second on the continent after Namibia. Hardly any of its detractors will notice that fact. The index looks at the four pillars of the universal principals of Rule of Law: Accountability, just laws, open government and accessible and impartial dispute resolution. Compared to regional countries, the closest is Kenya which stands in the 86th position. Tanzania comes in at 93, Uganda 117th and the Democratic Republic of Congo is third from bottom at 126. The WJP index did not bother to rank Burundi and South Sudan for obvious reasons. Now, here is where it gets interesting; On ensuring the security of persons and property, Rwanda comes ahead of the United States, Britain, Belgium and Spain. But you will never read this in the western media. That is the beauty of patience and ignoring distractive noise; Les faits sont têtus.
