UK extraditions: Not all hope is lost, after all

At last somebody somewhere understands that what happened in Rwanda in 1994 is an affair that concerns Rwandans first and foremost. The dark mark on our history was caused by Rwandans against their fellow men and women, and only they can wipe off the smudge. The judgment by a British Magistrate’s court to approve the extradition of four Rwandan Genocide suspects back home, should be an eye opener to all those who confess to be seeking justice for the over one million people who lost their lives in the 1994 Genocide. The decision should bring some section of the honourable judges at the Arusha-based tribunal from their stupor. Justice cannot be “seen to be done” in the confines of some foreign tribunals; it should show itself to the victims.We have come a long way in our reconciliation process, and along the way we have overcome obstacles that were thrown in our way. When we reintroduced Gacaca, the ancient traditional mode of justice, our “learned friends”, dressed in some fancy wigs, went up in arms crying “injustice!” Now they are jostling and trampling over each other to come and research this unique process. Where else would you set free a confessed killer? Definitely not in Western tribunals where a hungry shoplifter can find himself languishing in prison. Ours is a restorative and reconciliatory system of justice, where tolerance and forgiveness are given precedence over the droning mumbo-jumbos of some judge hunting from some ancient book of law an excuse that will deport you from society. There seems to be some light at the end of the tunnel, after all. End

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UK extraditions: Not all hope is lost, after all