EDITORIAL: Hate speech in Burundi should be condemned

“The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly - it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over”. No one could have put it better than the grandfather of propaganda and hate speech before and during the holocaust, Joseph Goebbels. This region has seen its own fair share of Goebbels from all walks of life; ranging from the academia such as Leon Mugesera, down to the street louts such as Hassan Ngeze. We had thought we had seen the last of the species, but no, some people in Burundi kept their genetic codes and are now busy engineering them ready to be unleashed. What we have seen unfolding in Burundi of recent is not only surprising, but shocking as well. We are not talking about the daily gruesome murders that would make ISIS look like boy scouts; it is about the mounting shameless incendiary speeches from Burundi’s top most leaders. When the head of Burundi’s ruling party, CNND-FDD, publicly recites his ethnic-laced hate speech, and personally attacks Rwanda’s Head of State, then there is reason to worry that what is happening in Burundi (killings, incitement) is orchestrated from the top, not isolated incidents. But if they thought they would lure Rwanda into their mess, they have another “think” coming. They should carry their own cross, as at the end of the day, they will be judged by the world.

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EDITORIAL: Hate speech in Burundi should be condemned