Justice delayed is justice denied

Rwanda cautiously welcomes the outcome of the case in which genocide fugitive Joseph Mpambara has at last been brought to book. Mpambara was charged 20 years imprisonment by a Dutch court for his role in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Gruesome details of the case reveal that Mpambara callously ordered the killing of two Tutsi mothers and their children. It is however heart-rending to measure what could seemingly be a just sentence for such an offence against those who authored and carried out this heinous act. In this regard, certain commentators contend that though justice seems to have been meted out, it is a matter of too little too late. In that light the Dutch prosecution ought to appeal against this sentence to pave way for a more appropriate conviction against the accused. Mpambara was indeed told in his face by the judges that 20 years was a rather light sentence taken against the exact nature of the crimes he committed.