PARTY DISCIPLINE

I was at the Central Police Station on July 11 after 6:00pm when Hon. Tinkasimire was arrested. Outside the station, was a war of words among journalists, Hon. Henry Banyenzaki and Police. Banyenzaki was challenging his colleague’s arrest. “If an MP can be arrested, how about the wanaichi?” He made me wonder: “How honourable are our MPs?” It’s wrong to assume that our legislators are free from error and, therefore, free from prosecution. Was Hon. Tinkasimire’s arrest a case of mistaken identity? Most likely not. Unfortunately we cannot prove our guilt or innocence in police cells. MPs should know that they are no saints, that their past is as relevant to voters as their present, that their peoples’ needs override their earnings and that because we vote, we also question how they live, what they say, where and when. Therefore, we should take such arrests in good faith because no one is above the law. Police have done their part in enforcing the law. Jail, like hell, has no fury. Like death, it knows no neck-ties or rags. Our MPs should not continue to ask to be summoned through the Speaker, otherwise what happens if cases of fraud come up against them when they are on recess? I am told that it is only in the precincts of Parliament where they can not be arrested. Why should our law makers condemn the laws they make? What is good for the goose is good for the gander, and what is bad for the MPs should be bad for the ordinary citizens. It is awful to blame the arrests on Police. If MPs are so honourable as not to be arrested, they should stay away from controversies of embezzlement, corruption, nepotism and forgery, among others. Then, we have to ask them to change their attitudes, improve their communication skills and apply extra reason and logic instead of acting out of emotions. We should commend the IGG’s office for doing their job, and the police for effecting the arrest. Ideally, no one is too important to face the law. A famous author remarked that “an infant is born with a clenched fist and dies with an open hand because life has a way of prying free the things (and people) we consider important.” Let equality before the law prevail.