Kigali Wednesday.
I’m sitting at my favorite coffee shop in this Rwandan capital among the hills. In addition to Rubia coffee on the restaurant hill Kimihurura serving delicious Rwandan coffee, internet connection is bulletproof. In the speakers either jazz or traditional Congolese music. Around me sit those young busy people, you know, those who have the café as an office and are deeply immersed behind their laptops.
Last time I was here last autumn it was a bit gloomier, the covid pandemic had put a lid on most things, but now the hotels are full, an African basketball tournament has been here, a conference for African parliamentarians has just begun.
But that’s not the point of Kigali. The hills here all have their own character, Kiyovu, the old center, has become the somewhat rigid hotel and bank districts, Nyarutarama which a little over a decade ago consisted of clay houses and banana plantations has become a bit of Kigali’s Östermalm, while Kibagabaga, a hill away is the new residential area, or why not Nyamirambo with its slightly Muslim touch mixed with hedonism and rougher neighborhoods.
And all this you can experience on a motorcycle taxi, smooth and light, you feel the wind in your hair when you whiz along along palm-lined avenues. The traffic is easily chaotic but manageable. Kigali has something as unique as functionality, while at the same time having a distinct African charm. Yes, I know that Rwanda is repeatedly criticized for its lack of democracy and many journalists and diplomats love to hate this country.
But politics aside, one can still not get away from the fact that there is something special about Kigali. It continues to be built, all the time. It exudes optimism. But there is something else that stands out. People want to come here, or return. I spoke to a young Rwandan who studied in the UK. When she and her classmates from Zimbabwe, Ghana and Kenya finished their studies, they wanted to stay in the UK. But she wanted to return to Rwanda to contribute what she learned. In fact, this country differs from most others in Africa.
Many in this young generation today sit at Rubia Coffee in Kimihurura. I have sat in many similar cafes, the hip cafes. They are also found in noisy and poor places like Bangui in the Central African Republic or Juba in South Sudan. But there, the clientele usually consists of young Westerners who work for international aid organizations or the UN. Not here. Here sit the young entrepreneurs, the startup kids with rudely good self-confidence. Maybe it’s still a gauge that something is going in the right direction.
Source: ICELAND NEWS