At last, what we all dreaded has landed within our borders. An Indian national who had recently visited his country was discovered to have contracted the coronavirus infection on return to Kigali. But it has not taken us by surprise and we had time to prepare, what remains now is to test whether the safety valves we put in place will do their job, the most important being prevention. The virus will definitely have a negative impact on our economy as many things will be disrupted; travel will be limited, schools and church services suspended. The leadership of this country has called for calm and there is no reason to doubt their capacity to deal with the threat, but we also have to play our bit. First of all, people should not share unverified rumours and hyping the whole epidemic. What people need is true guidance as it could spell the difference between life and death, not rushing to “break” news without realising that they are impinging on other people’s rights. Someone posted an ID of an Indian national resident in Rwanda claiming it was the coronavirus carrier, only it was not. Now an innocent man is being victimized and his reputation tarnished. This is cyberbullying which is against the law and RIB should get to the bottom of this matter. And even if it was the true identity of the patient, no one has the right to intrude into other people’s private lives. Let us instead spend time updating each other on government policies and instructions, and keeping safe.
