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Opinion L.A.

Opinion: Law of the land in Kigali

By Sue Horton
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Sue Horton, Op-Ed and Sunday Opinion editor of The Times, is in Rwanda on a two-week Gatekeeper Editor fact-finding trip organized by the International Reporting Project. She is chronicling her trip on the Opinion L.A. blog.

Tuesday, Nov. 8: The inimitable Fred Mwasa, journalist with the Rwandan weekly newspaper the Chronicles met us this morning to show us around Kigali. It’s an immensely interesting city.

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Observation 1:

Kigali is incredibly clean. We passed dozens of women in simple uniforms with brooms sweeping. And they’re everywhere, not just in the city center but in the poor areas, too. There is no trash to be seen.

Observation 2:

As in most African cities, there are a lot of motorcycle taxis. But in Rwanda, not only does the driver have to wear a helmet, but he (we didn’t see any women motorcycle taxi drivers, despite Rwanda’s genuine progress on gender issues) also has to carry a second helmet for his passenger.

Observation 3:

Traffic is as orderly as in any city I’ve been in, and much more so than in many -- Boston, say. People drive the speed limit (the fines are high if they don’t). They don’t pass unless it’s clear. They stop when they’re supposed to. There aren’t a ton of cars, but still ...

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Observation 4:

All my prior observations may be related to the same thing: Laws that are very strictly enforced. Fines are huge, and there are traffic cops everywhere. People don’t dare disobey the law. We asked a Rwandan today about whether the country is as safe as its reputation implies.

The response was instant: Absolutely. People don’t rob or steal or even shoplift.

Why, we asked? “The police shoot to kill.”

President Kagame has often stated his admiration for Singapore and has said it is a model for him. He’s well on his way.

PREVIOUSLY:

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Sunday, Nov. 6: Journey to Rwanda

Sunday, Nov. 6/Monday, Nov. 7: Two views of President Kagame

Monday night, Nov. 7: First impressions

-- Sue Horton

Opinion L.A.
Sue Horton

Sue Horton returned to the Los Angeles Times as Op-Ed and Sunday Opinion editor in December 2018, then moved to a senior editor role before leaving the newsroom in July 2021. For four years before that, she was a Top News editor and West Coast bureau chief at Reuters. She held a variety of editing jobs at the Los Angeles Times between 2001 and 2014, including Op-Ed and Sunday Opinion editor and deputy California editor. Before her first stint at The Times, she was editor-in-chief of the L.A. Weekly for six years. Prior to that, she was a journalism professor at the University of Southern California. Horton started her journalism career working for Community Information Project, an investigative reporting nonprofit that did stories on contract with public television, “60 Minutes,” and a variety of newspapers and magazines. She is the author of a nonfiction book, “The Billionaire Boys Club,” which was the basis for an NBC miniseries. Horton has a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Redlands and a master’s in journalism from USC.

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