Some countries on this continent have built a name for themselves as bastions of impunity, as long as one has financial or political power. Big names are mentioned in major corruption deals but the wheels of justice are slow to turn or simply take leave. An example is a member of parliament in this region who was captured on camera having a drink in a night club. He then calmly draws a pistol from his waistband and shoots the DJ without so much as exchanging words. Luckily the victim survived but is still bed-ridden while the MP is a free man. There are many similar cases where the well-connected make rain or shine and it has become a culture for many to believe that the higher one gets, the more difficult it is to bring them down. Not in Rwanda. Of recent, there have been some high profile arrests and suspensions from senior political positions that took many by surprise, but they should have seen it coming. A couple of weeks ago, while addressing senior RPF cadres, President Kagame took many officials to task and threatened to weed out those who didn’t make the grade. One message that has always come out loud and clear is that there are no sacred cows in Rwanda. But that message is distorted when justice is seen to be dragging its feet. Some of it is done on purpose to protect individuals, as long as the case file is still in the “process”, it is good to go. That is the kind of attitudes that should be done away with otherwise we might get to a stage where a senior official gets away with murder, despite it being on record.
