The situation of human rights in Africa evokes the image of a parasitic vine, growing rapidly, its tentacles reaching into every crack, to wedge it open further, its broad leaves shading the ground and preventing healthy plants from maturing. This vine of human rights violations has its main root system in the epoch of colonialism and it is fed abundantly by the waters of neocolonialism. In order to cut back this tangle of violations, to eradicate it so that human rights and the rule of law and justice can flourish, it is not enough to hack at the branches. We must discover its roots and pull them up.