Protect young Genocide survivors’ inheritance rights

Members of a taskforce set up by the Prime Minister to come to the bottom of thousands of cases of injustice suffered by Genocide survivors have their work cut up for them.

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Members of a taskforce set up by the Prime Minister to come to the bottom of thousands of cases of injustice suffered by Genocide survivors have their work cut up for them.The cases are mostly linked to property left behind by victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, whose rightful beneficiaries – most of whom were still infants – were given raw deals by their adult guardians or local leaders.The children are now adults who suddenly discover that their parents owned property, but the people who they looked up to for help and guidance, instead preyed on their vulnerability and grabbed the property.Now close to two decades down the road, some property has changed hands several times and unraveling the mess will not be an easy task, but a solution has to be sought. If possible, a list of shame should be compiled and made public for all to see where compassion was replaced by greed.The children suffered irreparable traumatic damage when they lost their parents, sometimes in front of their eyes. Add on the baggage of living a destitute life yet what is rightfully yours is being exploited by unscrupulous relatives, there you have a recipe for psychological disaster.The saying; ‘better late than never’ duly describes the current situation, but at least there is light at the end of the survivors’ tunnel.