The spaces along Kigali’s roads continue diminishing while settlements feel the pressure
BY GEORGE KAGAME
Every morning Jean Pierre Hakizimana (not his real name) comes to the Total petrol station at the junction between the roads leading to Gikondo and Kacyiru. Hakizimana is not employed at the petrol station neither is he a traffic policemen controlling the growing vehicle congestion at the junction.
He used to own the plot of land on which Total petrol station stands brightly, open 24 hours a day. Hakizimana sold his plot to an investor who built the modern petrol station, how or where Hakizimana spent the cash he was paid his plot are not clear enough because it is hard enough having a conversation with him, what is clear though is that he now suffering from mental problems and every morning Hakizimana comes to the petrol station and spends his entire day there making antics of admiration of the station.
Hakizimana is among of many petty land lords that have been displaced by investors, yesterday’s bushes are today’s mansions as Kigali continues its modernization drive. No where is this modernization more visible that the long drive from Nyabugogo to Kanombe airport!
The drive from Nyabugogo Taxi Park to Kanombe airport is like entering Rwanda’s Vision 2020, more than that, feeling the pulse of the residents of this long stretch of beautiful buildings on both sides of the road and the evergreen lush gardens.
During evening hours, the pavements and the roads are equally busy, vehicles speeding workers to or from work on the road while Kigali residents burn some fat jogging away their sweat on the pavements.
Many of architectural mazes on this road are newly built, while some like the new American embassy are still on their fist painting coat.
This beautiful drive will even need more superlatives to describe it once construction works begin this year for the highly anticipated Kigali Convention centre opens for business sometime.
And yet the convention centre will compete for importance with the equally impressive Dubai World funded golf course hotel which has taken about 100 hectares and displaced many more people in Kacyiru.
The land on which these two structures will be erected and on which many other modern buildings sit were until recently a bunch of dilapidated housing shacks that scrupulous city land owners used to exploit urban peasants in Kigali, the end of such landlords has been Kigali city’s increasing commercial depth, which even with the soon to be launched Kigali Master plan have made land extremely expensive and changed the view of the surrounding area which until recently were empty fields overgrown with bushes and trees.
Bruno Rangira the director of communication with Kigali City council says; “Kigali city council is taking a new direction as far as the resettlement of those moved from areas that are planned to be developed. We started with a pilot project of 1000 low cost houses that are being built in Batsinda-Gasabo district. Presently the first phase of over 250 houses was completed. Now about the first 50 families from lower Kiyovu are moving in these houses.”
The new Kigali master plan that will soon presented to parliament states;
“Most slums are located along the main roads where planned high income residential, commercial and administrative land use activities can highly thrive. An example of such a location is in Kiyovu-Muhima, where you will find a planned road network, but a precarious settlement.”
The petty land lords that used own these bushes were paid off and many went back to rural areas, others invested in other businesses while the rest just moved to inner slum areas. Hakizimana is among such peasant land lords currently crowded in many urban slums and ironically renting the same quality of shacks they used to own.
Steven Mbanda who used to own several plots of land in Remera and now runs a shop in the same area says; “many have just moved to inner city settlements like Kabagari in Kacyiru and Biryogo in Nyamirambo.”
I visited one such land lord who proffered not to be named, he is very bitter with the government and like Mbanda he reminisces about the way he spent his money; “I don’t like this government and any one that works or for it,” the anonymous ex land lord says. But Mbanda says such land lords are in fact bitter with themselves with the way they spent their new found cash.
Matayo Nduwumwami 48, a small landlord five years ago before the an investor bought him off, shares this opinion. Although he was given compensation, it was not enough fo rhim to build another home outside the city. The Kigali municipal authorities have tried to resolve the problem by providing alternative housing for them in Batsinda estate.
The lucky ones have been resettled in the PIGU (Projet d'Infrastructure et de Gestion Urbaine), in this project government has since 2003 created housing schemes to reduce chronic housing shortage in the country.
Some of the inhabitants of this estate will be ones that were driven from Kigali to make way for the new Kigali
Their lands are now history, large modern buildings are in place, and these are owned by even larger corporations or private bungalows for international executives doing their time in Kigali.
“So this is a new policy of Kigali city of facilitating those people moved to get better houses and even decent livelihoods. This is different from the past where after they were given their compensation money they would be left to fend for themselves, which eventually led to the growth of slums.
Other districts- Kicukiro and Nyarugenge are have plans to also build these low cost houses to settle the populations that are move,” Rangira says.
Some of the unlucky ones have genuine concerns like Matayo; "there is no sanitation or other infrastructure for development that they promised us, like hospitals, schools, electricity, or water supplies. The misery related to joblessness is too frequent and the authorities have not helped us find a solution," Matayo said.
The new Kigali is not that modern glitter that the master plan envisions or anything close to Vision 2020 but the city has rather taken its own unique way to adopt to its new found beauty a cold night drive from Kanombe to Mumuji as well as its nasty warmer concentration camps behind the ministry of education offices...the famous Kabagari.
Saturday, 26 April 2008
To Ahmed and Micheal
Hey Michael;
How are you doing?
Maybe you are at school, or at home or in a dormitory, wherever you are, I just thought about you today. I thought I would write you how I spend my typical day.
I stay at a place called Kimironko, if you have ever lived in Kiwafu after Kansanga that is the equivalent of Kimironko in Kigali.
Anyhow, I work as a journalist in an English newspaper called The New Times, it is also the equivalent of The New Vision in Uganda.
I work as a Staff Writer, normally that’s another name for reporter, I report about news events, issues, personalities and anything else that can make news, sometimes I also help in the creation of news, from my own room, then I call other people who are important and they speak to the public through me. Sometimes, the news to write about is not even there, and so I begin thinking, maybe I’m going to loose my job tomorrow, the God sends a story from somewhere, which can keep busy the whole week. All I do really is write in my notepad what people say and then I type it from my room, listening to music.
Right now aim listening I think to Eric Clapton and Baby King. Byaba Bazungu nyo I cannot understand it, but I downloaded the music when I was idle one day at work.
So my day begins at 6am, I report for work at seven, and read majors events of the day, sometimes, aim invited to events, where I spend the day attending an event just to write 400 words about.
Then sometimes events present themselves, like today I went to a job interview FOR A vacancy that I applied for in February from the national social protection company. NSSF, we were so many that I felt crazy, there were only a couple of jobs and we about 300, we occupied a all university campus and finished all the drinks in the canteen.
So I went to do the interview and it occurred to me that I had come to the wrong interview, my job interview was the next day at 9am/
I met Doryn, my classmate at university, she was also coming to sit for the same interview, we chatted and laughed about the old days at university.
I told her that I was proud of her to have helped me and she should be proud of me for not letting her down.
She however is a big official with the Kigali City Administration, for which I was also a regular reporter. Doryn sometimes also gives tips for news; she is the International Relations Officer for the Capital City administration. So when I have no news I call, however she complains about her job, she says wants to work in a more dynamic company like MTN, which is where her future husband works.
So we all went to the wrong interview, while we were chatting away and revising for tomorrow’s interview, then someone called from for the Rwanda Centre for Support to Small and Medium scale enterprises. This office caters for government and donor support to the growth of small enterprises like kiosks, canteens, bars, hotels, libraries and all of them like salons.
I applied for a job there maybe two months ago, then I chilled, one time they called me for an interview, then today they called me for another interview. When I went there I found it is the crazy routine. So I will go for tomorrow’s interview and hopefully finish doing the exercise in time for me to hand in weekend stories. I have three columns that run on Saturday and Sunday.
So right now am at home after going the wrong interview, and then dropping off another copy of my CV at the centre I told you about.
I have finished my weekend sports column, aim going to edit my Sunday feature story and then write two stories for the news desk.
The one about the city administration concerns the newly developed Kigali MASTER plan which is a blue print for developing a fully planned city growth. The master plan was developed by the current administration of Mayor Dr Aisa Kirabo, it was presented at the International Investment Conference held in Kigali in June 2007.
So the master plan is going to be presented to cabinet and thereafter launched.
So I walk to the offices of the organisations involved and anyone interested or affected by the master plan and when I do that I have a job. Sometimes it happens in two minutes, sometimes four, and then a day, two days, sometimes it can take six months to make one story.
Yet, am paid according to the stories I have published by the end of the month, which means sometimes the salaries varies, sometimes I can afford have many stories and therefore a good salary, sometimes the stories ate not there and then salary to disappears. I spent eight months staying in someone’s house to afford the house rent for the place in which I live currently.
And yet, the house rent is due, the landlord has asked back his house; apparently she wants to sell it. I have got a new house, the new house which I rented from an old man who signed an agreement with me and did not leave me with a copy.
So the house is really far from where I can pick my taxi to work, every morning, I will have to walk 15 minutes to get to a bus point. That is not good, but am consoling myself, you need the exercise.
It is 5.25pm right now, by the time I have done all the things I wrote above it is usually at this time. If I have money sometimes I go to the gym, when I don’t the money.......like today, which unfortunately is quite often, I sty here in my room and listen to music.
Am now listening to a song with lyrics that goes;
“
The sun is setting in the west; the cattle go the stream/ the red wing settling in the nest/ Its time for a cowboy to sing. Purple lines in the canyon/ that’s where I long to be/with my three good companions, just my rifle my pony and me. Weevil wheel in the willow sings a sweet melody............”
Its nice song.
So I will write you much more tomorrow.
“He is here, the one you have been looking for, the one who finished your family during the genocide, now he is here shouting in the taxi park.” Petero Muzeyi, (not his real name) shouted at a passenger in Nyabugogo mid last year.
Muzeyi was part of a group of youth that lounge in Nyabugogo during the day and vanish to neighbouring sharks during the night. That Sunday evening, they were having fun as they called upon passengers in the taxi park. I happened to be traveling to Lake Muhazi’s Jambo for beach for an assignment on Bralirwa’s annual Mutzig nationwide annual folklore musical drive.
Gaaki Kigambo a fellow journalist who was traveling with me was intrigued with the remarks of the boys, who looked to be enjoying the above scene describing the 1994 Genocide. He was caught between the drama and the fact the youths were so eager to talk about the genocide in such a way; “maybe after 50 years, even the Rwandan Genocide will be a matter of history left to chit chats and jokes,” he remarked.
No one else in the bus understood Gaaki’s English to offer a discussion and I was lost between my anger against the taxi touts and their jokes or the humiliation of the passenger. The passenger seemed not to be bothered with the antics of youths; other passengers looked on in amusement.
Fast forward to April 2007 in the newly built taxi park, a group of beautiful endowed adult and teenage ladies walked inside one bus, one of the taxi touts in the park asked the conductor of the bus; “Hey.........are you going to Masisi?”, the conductor was impassive, and his colleague offered the explanation; “the girls you have packed inside that bus can only be residents of Masisi.”
The same month in Butare’s NUR, Peter entered a restaurant one dark evening; the moment he stepped in the dining room electricity went off. One of the diners in the room remarked; “this is what happens when a stranger walks other diners in a place. Peter was not a stranger and it was not a joke either.
Peter was offended!
For some reason a parliamentary commission in december 2007 discovered with the help of percentage rates that in many Rwanda’s schools especially in the Northern Province were breeding pupils and students along identities which the parliament members termed as ‘Genocide ideology’.
The ideology got its name from investigations that school children labeled each other as Hutu or Tutsi, the students thereafter began to write their determination to eliminate their supposed opponents, such ideas the commission went on to report caused the 1994 Genocide.
The report caused alarm to many observers and politicians, to date headlines still appear in the media about genocide ideologies, either politicians urging their people to avoid the ideas here or an attack against a genocide survivor there inspired by what researchers have termed as ethnic hatred. In some cases, the attacks have been motivated by one victim testifying against one genocide perpetrator. In many cases, the names are different, but the motive is always familiar. Yet, in the same month that these events happened, the nation was in mourning for over 937000 victims of the 1994 Genocide, the same month; conferences were taking place in Canada disputing the Rwandan Genocide.
Professor Lwakabamba
In the past we had issues where students wrote abusive language in the toilets and their hostels. We have stopped this writing.
Lwakabamba however admits that during guild elections, genocide related ideas come in to play in student politics; “genocide ideas come into play especially in election time. However, here they take the rivalries between Anglophones and Francophone students.”
Francophone is the Kigali speak for someone that speaks exclusively French as his second language while Anglophone is foe the English speaking lot.
Lwakabamba adds that there was too much competition for guild seats; “students fought by all means to get to these positions because they earn a lot of money.”
The university has adopted an intelligence network to report about genocide related incidents among the students; “we have put up security agents to check and report back to the administration about the situation concerning genocide ideologies.”
The government has committed resources to assisting genocide survivors throughout the country, Protais Musoni the Minister of Local Government says, “We have established the number of vulnerable people that survived the genocide who cannot afford basic materials as houses.”
Musoni said that number currently stands at 30000 according to Ibuka, he says that government has committed resources to eliminating genocide ideologies in the country; “through programmes like Ubudehe, Umuganda, community policy committees, we have promoted a culture of people solving their own problems, if citizens have initiative to solve their own problems, they cannot be manipulated, we worked to achieve a universal feeling of self esteem among Rwandans. Musoni says such ideologies will be eliminated in the long run as Rwandans become more hard work and inspire competition .among the citizens on exploiting government policies instead of ethnic thinking that was indoctrinated into people.
Professor Frank Chalk a genocide expert that has offered to assist Rwanda in eliminating genocide ideology says
..............
Is there genocide ideology in the country?
What is government doing?
Itorero
Ubudehe
Beyond forgiveness to reintegration
FDLR publicity
Can it be eliminated?
Frank Chalk
At The nightmare came on a horse back screening at Gisozi.
Musoni and giving Rwandans self esteem
International condemnation of French and Spanish warrant dramas
When poverty is eliminated and as Protais Musoni says; it is important to raise the self esteem of our people so that they accept that some people are rich and other are poor, to avoid being indoctrinated with harmful thinking about each other.”
Frank Chalk agrees, poverty is very easy to be manipulated
It is easy to sell an ideology to a poor man
Bloom Hotel
BY GEORGE KAGAME
Put a lake nearby and you have the perfect resort motel right in the middle of Kigali Kimironko’s Bloom Motel has a wide expanse compound beautifully coloured by a clever lining of flowers right from the gate to the reception.
The motel is well set apart from the normal lifestyle around Kimironko yet it is less than 30 metres between the main road leading to the prison the other side of the suburb, and connecting to main roads leading to Kibagabaga hospital, the main market and the national stadium.
Sitting on the patio of the motel, the above features look so many hundreds of miles away, because while you sip a cold Amstel from the bar facing the main, the indications are quite clear that you have to a place where fun is in plenty.
The wide gardens behind guestrooms are used to host parties and should a guest want to stretch with a ball in the compound, no problem according to the Manager@@@@@@@
Bloom Motel serves fresh meals prepared in the in-house kitchen where the chef regularly comes to the crowd in front to receive special orders.
There are well made fried chips and equally tasty fish brochette, but the beef brochette is not tender and the vegetable servings are very little too.
The chips are also made in the shape of chain saws as is the case in many eating restaurants in the city.
The rooms have a very good view; the front of the motel gives way to a virgin hill across, which gives the place a very rural outlook, the well maintained and good looking little garden with a wide collection of flowers.
The back view gives a fresh looking view is large flat field with a single tree that looks isolated in the middle, the other trees are outside the compound.
It is normal in the evenings seeing Kigali's corporate wannabes that reside in nearby areas with laptops heading to the hotel. These Yuppies; (young urban working professionals) are a common feature with their lone laptops and headphones on the tables and beer bottles as company.
There’s fresh chicken prepared Ala carte chicken, the man chicken serves traditional dishes as is ordered.
Fish brochette costs Frw 2500 for two sticks, while a whole fish costs Frw 5000, chips will take you back Frw 1000, while beef brochette is Frw 600.
The unique selling point for Bloom Hotel is their garden, which is so huge it can occupy a football field Ideal for children as their nothing to break, just well maintained low trimmed grass.
How are you doing?
Maybe you are at school, or at home or in a dormitory, wherever you are, I just thought about you today. I thought I would write you how I spend my typical day.
I stay at a place called Kimironko, if you have ever lived in Kiwafu after Kansanga that is the equivalent of Kimironko in Kigali.
Anyhow, I work as a journalist in an English newspaper called The New Times, it is also the equivalent of The New Vision in Uganda.
I work as a Staff Writer, normally that’s another name for reporter, I report about news events, issues, personalities and anything else that can make news, sometimes I also help in the creation of news, from my own room, then I call other people who are important and they speak to the public through me. Sometimes, the news to write about is not even there, and so I begin thinking, maybe I’m going to loose my job tomorrow, the God sends a story from somewhere, which can keep busy the whole week. All I do really is write in my notepad what people say and then I type it from my room, listening to music.
Right now aim listening I think to Eric Clapton and Baby King. Byaba Bazungu nyo I cannot understand it, but I downloaded the music when I was idle one day at work.
So my day begins at 6am, I report for work at seven, and read majors events of the day, sometimes, aim invited to events, where I spend the day attending an event just to write 400 words about.
Then sometimes events present themselves, like today I went to a job interview FOR A vacancy that I applied for in February from the national social protection company. NSSF, we were so many that I felt crazy, there were only a couple of jobs and we about 300, we occupied a all university campus and finished all the drinks in the canteen.
So I went to do the interview and it occurred to me that I had come to the wrong interview, my job interview was the next day at 9am/
I met Doryn, my classmate at university, she was also coming to sit for the same interview, we chatted and laughed about the old days at university.
I told her that I was proud of her to have helped me and she should be proud of me for not letting her down.
She however is a big official with the Kigali City Administration, for which I was also a regular reporter. Doryn sometimes also gives tips for news; she is the International Relations Officer for the Capital City administration. So when I have no news I call, however she complains about her job, she says wants to work in a more dynamic company like MTN, which is where her future husband works.
So we all went to the wrong interview, while we were chatting away and revising for tomorrow’s interview, then someone called from for the Rwanda Centre for Support to Small and Medium scale enterprises. This office caters for government and donor support to the growth of small enterprises like kiosks, canteens, bars, hotels, libraries and all of them like salons.
I applied for a job there maybe two months ago, then I chilled, one time they called me for an interview, then today they called me for another interview. When I went there I found it is the crazy routine. So I will go for tomorrow’s interview and hopefully finish doing the exercise in time for me to hand in weekend stories. I have three columns that run on Saturday and Sunday.
So right now am at home after going the wrong interview, and then dropping off another copy of my CV at the centre I told you about.
I have finished my weekend sports column, aim going to edit my Sunday feature story and then write two stories for the news desk.
The one about the city administration concerns the newly developed Kigali MASTER plan which is a blue print for developing a fully planned city growth. The master plan was developed by the current administration of Mayor Dr Aisa Kirabo, it was presented at the International Investment Conference held in Kigali in June 2007.
So the master plan is going to be presented to cabinet and thereafter launched.
So I walk to the offices of the organisations involved and anyone interested or affected by the master plan and when I do that I have a job. Sometimes it happens in two minutes, sometimes four, and then a day, two days, sometimes it can take six months to make one story.
Yet, am paid according to the stories I have published by the end of the month, which means sometimes the salaries varies, sometimes I can afford have many stories and therefore a good salary, sometimes the stories ate not there and then salary to disappears. I spent eight months staying in someone’s house to afford the house rent for the place in which I live currently.
And yet, the house rent is due, the landlord has asked back his house; apparently she wants to sell it. I have got a new house, the new house which I rented from an old man who signed an agreement with me and did not leave me with a copy.
So the house is really far from where I can pick my taxi to work, every morning, I will have to walk 15 minutes to get to a bus point. That is not good, but am consoling myself, you need the exercise.
It is 5.25pm right now, by the time I have done all the things I wrote above it is usually at this time. If I have money sometimes I go to the gym, when I don’t the money.......like today, which unfortunately is quite often, I sty here in my room and listen to music.
Am now listening to a song with lyrics that goes;
“
The sun is setting in the west; the cattle go the stream/ the red wing settling in the nest/ Its time for a cowboy to sing. Purple lines in the canyon/ that’s where I long to be/with my three good companions, just my rifle my pony and me. Weevil wheel in the willow sings a sweet melody............”
Its nice song.
So I will write you much more tomorrow.
“He is here, the one you have been looking for, the one who finished your family during the genocide, now he is here shouting in the taxi park.” Petero Muzeyi, (not his real name) shouted at a passenger in Nyabugogo mid last year.
Muzeyi was part of a group of youth that lounge in Nyabugogo during the day and vanish to neighbouring sharks during the night. That Sunday evening, they were having fun as they called upon passengers in the taxi park. I happened to be traveling to Lake Muhazi’s Jambo for beach for an assignment on Bralirwa’s annual Mutzig nationwide annual folklore musical drive.
Gaaki Kigambo a fellow journalist who was traveling with me was intrigued with the remarks of the boys, who looked to be enjoying the above scene describing the 1994 Genocide. He was caught between the drama and the fact the youths were so eager to talk about the genocide in such a way; “maybe after 50 years, even the Rwandan Genocide will be a matter of history left to chit chats and jokes,” he remarked.
No one else in the bus understood Gaaki’s English to offer a discussion and I was lost between my anger against the taxi touts and their jokes or the humiliation of the passenger. The passenger seemed not to be bothered with the antics of youths; other passengers looked on in amusement.
Fast forward to April 2007 in the newly built taxi park, a group of beautiful endowed adult and teenage ladies walked inside one bus, one of the taxi touts in the park asked the conductor of the bus; “Hey.........are you going to Masisi?”, the conductor was impassive, and his colleague offered the explanation; “the girls you have packed inside that bus can only be residents of Masisi.”
The same month in Butare’s NUR, Peter entered a restaurant one dark evening; the moment he stepped in the dining room electricity went off. One of the diners in the room remarked; “this is what happens when a stranger walks other diners in a place. Peter was not a stranger and it was not a joke either.
Peter was offended!
For some reason a parliamentary commission in december 2007 discovered with the help of percentage rates that in many Rwanda’s schools especially in the Northern Province were breeding pupils and students along identities which the parliament members termed as ‘Genocide ideology’.
The ideology got its name from investigations that school children labeled each other as Hutu or Tutsi, the students thereafter began to write their determination to eliminate their supposed opponents, such ideas the commission went on to report caused the 1994 Genocide.
The report caused alarm to many observers and politicians, to date headlines still appear in the media about genocide ideologies, either politicians urging their people to avoid the ideas here or an attack against a genocide survivor there inspired by what researchers have termed as ethnic hatred. In some cases, the attacks have been motivated by one victim testifying against one genocide perpetrator. In many cases, the names are different, but the motive is always familiar. Yet, in the same month that these events happened, the nation was in mourning for over 937000 victims of the 1994 Genocide, the same month; conferences were taking place in Canada disputing the Rwandan Genocide.
Professor Lwakabamba
In the past we had issues where students wrote abusive language in the toilets and their hostels. We have stopped this writing.
Lwakabamba however admits that during guild elections, genocide related ideas come in to play in student politics; “genocide ideas come into play especially in election time. However, here they take the rivalries between Anglophones and Francophone students.”
Francophone is the Kigali speak for someone that speaks exclusively French as his second language while Anglophone is foe the English speaking lot.
Lwakabamba adds that there was too much competition for guild seats; “students fought by all means to get to these positions because they earn a lot of money.”
The university has adopted an intelligence network to report about genocide related incidents among the students; “we have put up security agents to check and report back to the administration about the situation concerning genocide ideologies.”
The government has committed resources to assisting genocide survivors throughout the country, Protais Musoni the Minister of Local Government says, “We have established the number of vulnerable people that survived the genocide who cannot afford basic materials as houses.”
Musoni said that number currently stands at 30000 according to Ibuka, he says that government has committed resources to eliminating genocide ideologies in the country; “through programmes like Ubudehe, Umuganda, community policy committees, we have promoted a culture of people solving their own problems, if citizens have initiative to solve their own problems, they cannot be manipulated, we worked to achieve a universal feeling of self esteem among Rwandans. Musoni says such ideologies will be eliminated in the long run as Rwandans become more hard work and inspire competition .among the citizens on exploiting government policies instead of ethnic thinking that was indoctrinated into people.
Professor Frank Chalk a genocide expert that has offered to assist Rwanda in eliminating genocide ideology says
..............
Is there genocide ideology in the country?
What is government doing?
Itorero
Ubudehe
Beyond forgiveness to reintegration
FDLR publicity
Can it be eliminated?
Frank Chalk
At The nightmare came on a horse back screening at Gisozi.
Musoni and giving Rwandans self esteem
International condemnation of French and Spanish warrant dramas
When poverty is eliminated and as Protais Musoni says; it is important to raise the self esteem of our people so that they accept that some people are rich and other are poor, to avoid being indoctrinated with harmful thinking about each other.”
Frank Chalk agrees, poverty is very easy to be manipulated
It is easy to sell an ideology to a poor man
Bloom Hotel
BY GEORGE KAGAME
Put a lake nearby and you have the perfect resort motel right in the middle of Kigali Kimironko’s Bloom Motel has a wide expanse compound beautifully coloured by a clever lining of flowers right from the gate to the reception.
The motel is well set apart from the normal lifestyle around Kimironko yet it is less than 30 metres between the main road leading to the prison the other side of the suburb, and connecting to main roads leading to Kibagabaga hospital, the main market and the national stadium.
Sitting on the patio of the motel, the above features look so many hundreds of miles away, because while you sip a cold Amstel from the bar facing the main, the indications are quite clear that you have to a place where fun is in plenty.
The wide gardens behind guestrooms are used to host parties and should a guest want to stretch with a ball in the compound, no problem according to the Manager@@@@@@@
Bloom Motel serves fresh meals prepared in the in-house kitchen where the chef regularly comes to the crowd in front to receive special orders.
There are well made fried chips and equally tasty fish brochette, but the beef brochette is not tender and the vegetable servings are very little too.
The chips are also made in the shape of chain saws as is the case in many eating restaurants in the city.
The rooms have a very good view; the front of the motel gives way to a virgin hill across, which gives the place a very rural outlook, the well maintained and good looking little garden with a wide collection of flowers.
The back view gives a fresh looking view is large flat field with a single tree that looks isolated in the middle, the other trees are outside the compound.
It is normal in the evenings seeing Kigali's corporate wannabes that reside in nearby areas with laptops heading to the hotel. These Yuppies; (young urban working professionals) are a common feature with their lone laptops and headphones on the tables and beer bottles as company.
There’s fresh chicken prepared Ala carte chicken, the man chicken serves traditional dishes as is ordered.
Fish brochette costs Frw 2500 for two sticks, while a whole fish costs Frw 5000, chips will take you back Frw 1000, while beef brochette is Frw 600.
The unique selling point for Bloom Hotel is their garden, which is so huge it can occupy a football field Ideal for children as their nothing to break, just well maintained low trimmed grass.
Wednesday, 9 April 2008
Medis Motel
Medi’s Motel; the true spirit of Kimironko
BY GEORGE KAGAME
Situated in the middle of the busy Kimironko suburb and right in front of the main market, Medi’s Motel is famous throughout Kigali for specialty in Rwandan traditional cuisine and hosting major social functions like weddings for residents in Gasabo district and beyond.
Medi’s Motel doubles as the leading restaurant and major venue in Kimironko. It also has a sports bar.
However the sports bar is very unpopular with patrons as management is erratic, at times switching off the television and the proprietor Bosco Mbanyimfura sometimes telling patrons to “you can go back to your homes; I own my bossiness and I decide what my customers watch.” As Alfred Mugabe a regular client says.
The restaurant is in the middle of Kimironko’s business district, it faces the local Bank Populaire branch and just a stone’s throw of the main road junction in Kimironko. Medi’s motel serves meals and drinks to many white collar executives working around the Amahoro National Stadium and the UN ICTR offices nearby. Many Rwanda Defense Forces senior officers have also been hosted here for lunch regularly.
Medi’s bar is different from many Kigali bars, the upper section of the motel serves as ballroom which hosts conferences and events, on the ground floor is a small counter which has a variety of drinks, here chicken, fish and beef brochette is served with ice cold Amstel beer, there are also private cabins for patrons in need of privacy.
The sad thing about Medi’s like so many bars in Kigali, there is no music, or any sound apart from the television.
The menu is concise with a variety on offer by in house chefs. There’s full chicken which can cost you about Frw 6000, while a full fish will cost you Frw 4500. Whisks and wines range between Frw 2000 to Frw 5000. They also offer coffee and traditional meals for lunch and supper from Monday to Sunday.’ Medi’s motel has small but sage parking space, you are advised to watch out in the main road if you are driving.
There is also very good breakfast at Medi’s motel; the restaurant serves modest coffee chips, brochette and many other snacks.
Just below the motel is Medi’s supermarket. The supermarket is one of the biggest shopping centres in Gasabo district. They have a selection of samosas, vegetable and beef pizzas and sausages, clients can order for snacks and drinks from the supermarket and sit in the open on the verandah above as you watch over Kigali’s expansion in Nyarutarama and Kibagabaga.
Medi’s motel is open every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner; however the supermarket closes on Friday evening through Saturday evening as the proprietors are staunch Adventists.
I was supposed to very objective while writing this story as Dr Ongora Jerome advised back at school but Medi's has some of the most rude staff in the country
The owner also is from the old aRwandan school of tought
BY GEORGE KAGAME
Situated in the middle of the busy Kimironko suburb and right in front of the main market, Medi’s Motel is famous throughout Kigali for specialty in Rwandan traditional cuisine and hosting major social functions like weddings for residents in Gasabo district and beyond.
Medi’s Motel doubles as the leading restaurant and major venue in Kimironko. It also has a sports bar.
However the sports bar is very unpopular with patrons as management is erratic, at times switching off the television and the proprietor Bosco Mbanyimfura sometimes telling patrons to “you can go back to your homes; I own my bossiness and I decide what my customers watch.” As Alfred Mugabe a regular client says.
The restaurant is in the middle of Kimironko’s business district, it faces the local Bank Populaire branch and just a stone’s throw of the main road junction in Kimironko. Medi’s motel serves meals and drinks to many white collar executives working around the Amahoro National Stadium and the UN ICTR offices nearby. Many Rwanda Defense Forces senior officers have also been hosted here for lunch regularly.
Medi’s bar is different from many Kigali bars, the upper section of the motel serves as ballroom which hosts conferences and events, on the ground floor is a small counter which has a variety of drinks, here chicken, fish and beef brochette is served with ice cold Amstel beer, there are also private cabins for patrons in need of privacy.
The sad thing about Medi’s like so many bars in Kigali, there is no music, or any sound apart from the television.
The menu is concise with a variety on offer by in house chefs. There’s full chicken which can cost you about Frw 6000, while a full fish will cost you Frw 4500. Whisks and wines range between Frw 2000 to Frw 5000. They also offer coffee and traditional meals for lunch and supper from Monday to Sunday.’ Medi’s motel has small but sage parking space, you are advised to watch out in the main road if you are driving.
There is also very good breakfast at Medi’s motel; the restaurant serves modest coffee chips, brochette and many other snacks.
Just below the motel is Medi’s supermarket. The supermarket is one of the biggest shopping centres in Gasabo district. They have a selection of samosas, vegetable and beef pizzas and sausages, clients can order for snacks and drinks from the supermarket and sit in the open on the verandah above as you watch over Kigali’s expansion in Nyarutarama and Kibagabaga.
Medi’s motel is open every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner; however the supermarket closes on Friday evening through Saturday evening as the proprietors are staunch Adventists.
I was supposed to very objective while writing this story as Dr Ongora Jerome advised back at school but Medi's has some of the most rude staff in the country
The owner also is from the old aRwandan school of tought
Series of Unfornate events
Am seated infornt of my computer, i have been like this since 7am in the morning. i have not written anything downm ye i have five stories to take care of......
Its a bad day at work, i', homeless too; apparantly i have to shift from my house before the end of this month....my housemate "is very very confident", his confidence levels boarder on arrogance.....
So i might have to move out alone, im not having a good day at all.
So right now i will go home and try to put my mind together. try another house agent and hope he will not cheat me again....life sucks today............
I have not yet gonme to the bank to withdraw my money because i dont want it spent before i pay rent, this is the only reason Kigali sucks......renting sucks........especially if your income tesalawo like mine.
Yesterdy Liverpool broke the hearts of Arsenal, Walcott redeemed his talent though and he might get a good deal soon from another club.
Tonight its United beating Roma, Roma will certainly get walloped, its United Am writing about
Hail David Kawai and Josh Kron
Peace
Its a bad day at work, i', homeless too; apparantly i have to shift from my house before the end of this month....my housemate "is very very confident", his confidence levels boarder on arrogance.....
So i might have to move out alone, im not having a good day at all.
So right now i will go home and try to put my mind together. try another house agent and hope he will not cheat me again....life sucks today............
I have not yet gonme to the bank to withdraw my money because i dont want it spent before i pay rent, this is the only reason Kigali sucks......renting sucks........especially if your income tesalawo like mine.
Yesterdy Liverpool broke the hearts of Arsenal, Walcott redeemed his talent though and he might get a good deal soon from another club.
Tonight its United beating Roma, Roma will certainly get walloped, its United Am writing about
Hail David Kawai and Josh Kron
Peace
Saturday, 22 March 2008
Gisenyi everlasting
I cannot claim to have travelled to many parts of the worldm as a result my biggest expereince with travelling though i love it very much is limited to reading various novels, magazines, movies and post cards. Which i have searched for in plenty!!
But recently i have fallwn in love with the idea of boarding a bus with my wallet in pocket, work bag and off to awnywhere in Rwanda for a night.
That was how in the first place i ended up going to Ruhengeri with Josh for a story in Sunrise school. I have written about that school .........and good stories too,
Anyhow, as a gift for good work Josh said we would be trating ourselves to a night on the beach in Serena Hotal Kivu, The time we spent ijn Gisenyi and Musanze are my most fun days so far.
At Serena, we checked in and headed out to a chea[er restaurant near Gisenyi where we had a wonderful meal at only Frw 1200 and then to the taxi park for a Mutzig and...........
At night we simply got out of the hotel to lakeshore and almost spent the entire night chilling, i was even wuestioning the wisdom of paying for a room.
The words fail me when i try to explain the beauty of spending a night on Lake Kivu shorelines as you watch Goma in DRC, and listen to the waves from the sputtering water of the sixth largest lake in the world at the Heart of Africa.
Hail Josh for his Macbook too.
But recently i have fallwn in love with the idea of boarding a bus with my wallet in pocket, work bag and off to awnywhere in Rwanda for a night.
That was how in the first place i ended up going to Ruhengeri with Josh for a story in Sunrise school. I have written about that school .........and good stories too,
Anyhow, as a gift for good work Josh said we would be trating ourselves to a night on the beach in Serena Hotal Kivu, The time we spent ijn Gisenyi and Musanze are my most fun days so far.
At Serena, we checked in and headed out to a chea[er restaurant near Gisenyi where we had a wonderful meal at only Frw 1200 and then to the taxi park for a Mutzig and...........
At night we simply got out of the hotel to lakeshore and almost spent the entire night chilling, i was even wuestioning the wisdom of paying for a room.
The words fail me when i try to explain the beauty of spending a night on Lake Kivu shorelines as you watch Goma in DRC, and listen to the waves from the sputtering water of the sixth largest lake in the world at the Heart of Africa.
Hail Josh for his Macbook too.
Lugambo
If it was not for Collin Habbam i would nit be writing here today, i just got to work and read his nice comment on by blog and so here iam.
I have not personally Collin, but before he travelled we we used to be involved in the media in Rwanda and then 'ICT' enabled us to meet.
Okay enough with the Lugambo
Todai is saturady and its a great day because i moght watch Tottenham and Westham. there are too many Hams in England, i also hear that it is Easter.
It is also a great day because David Kawai just sent me mail that he has sent me the MacBook, can life get better than that?
So im at workm i really have o particular assignment, which sucks because kati nkola nga mukopi, again!!!!!!
So i will just sit on my PC and type stuff like this or read football articles as i wait for one of my bosses to look at me like am KASASIRO,
Yesterday, the so called Good Friday, i worked from home, wrote two stories and came to hand them in where i met Hamza, we spent Good Friday chilling watching Bob Marley music.
Since i came from Musanze i had decided to send the students whose photos i had taken copies of their photos, but that needs money and my current situation cannot be described as 'ndi bulungi'
So i will hipefully send them next week, i finally feel good that i have got some young innocent friends in Rwanda secondary school, and a good one like Sunrise
Boney Mugabe my housemate for now went to Kla to pick his girlfriend for Easter weekendm i think they have now arrived home, so for the next couple of days the house will have a woman,
Talking about woman, recently i met Jojo, and we chatted about things like "long term relationship".
After a few days when i had just met her she went to Bujumbura and she could not tell me to do what? So i had the surgery on my knee and all the time we were talking on phonem till one day i called her late in the night, Jojo who otherwise cannot stay outside of home whrn she is in Kigali till 8pm was now outise late in the night in a foreign country and was still not telling me what the hell she was doing in Bujumbura et with her sister.
So the house has not had a woman since January i think. And am still searching for one. Actaully my house has not had a woman for a very long time!!!!!!!Life sucks.
At the begining of the month i was determined to get a passport, MancBook and a new phone and i made plans for all of thre month, this month is ending and am still wapi!
But David is sending the APPLE, the immigration officer told me my passport would ready on monday and maybe i will get that phone too,
Wellm my house rent situation is still very cloudy, but i hope to end up living in a very decent house at a fair price
In God I Believe
I have not personally Collin, but before he travelled we we used to be involved in the media in Rwanda and then 'ICT' enabled us to meet.
Okay enough with the Lugambo
Todai is saturady and its a great day because i moght watch Tottenham and Westham. there are too many Hams in England, i also hear that it is Easter.
It is also a great day because David Kawai just sent me mail that he has sent me the MacBook, can life get better than that?
So im at workm i really have o particular assignment, which sucks because kati nkola nga mukopi, again!!!!!!
So i will just sit on my PC and type stuff like this or read football articles as i wait for one of my bosses to look at me like am KASASIRO,
Yesterday, the so called Good Friday, i worked from home, wrote two stories and came to hand them in where i met Hamza, we spent Good Friday chilling watching Bob Marley music.
Since i came from Musanze i had decided to send the students whose photos i had taken copies of their photos, but that needs money and my current situation cannot be described as 'ndi bulungi'
So i will hipefully send them next week, i finally feel good that i have got some young innocent friends in Rwanda secondary school, and a good one like Sunrise
Boney Mugabe my housemate for now went to Kla to pick his girlfriend for Easter weekendm i think they have now arrived home, so for the next couple of days the house will have a woman,
Talking about woman, recently i met Jojo, and we chatted about things like "long term relationship".
After a few days when i had just met her she went to Bujumbura and she could not tell me to do what? So i had the surgery on my knee and all the time we were talking on phonem till one day i called her late in the night, Jojo who otherwise cannot stay outside of home whrn she is in Kigali till 8pm was now outise late in the night in a foreign country and was still not telling me what the hell she was doing in Bujumbura et with her sister.
So the house has not had a woman since January i think. And am still searching for one. Actaully my house has not had a woman for a very long time!!!!!!!Life sucks.
At the begining of the month i was determined to get a passport, MancBook and a new phone and i made plans for all of thre month, this month is ending and am still wapi!
But David is sending the APPLE, the immigration officer told me my passport would ready on monday and maybe i will get that phone too,
Wellm my house rent situation is still very cloudy, but i hope to end up living in a very decent house at a fair price
In God I Believe
Monday, 17 March 2008
Sunrise school Ruhengeri
I have been working with Josh about a story in Ruhengeri which is run by an Anglican bishop John Rucyahana, the guy has set up a model school that could not be misplaced if it was in Western Europe, the buildings are well maintained and above everything good that the school has to offer, it has a very nice view of the Virunga mountain volcanoes.
We had a meal with the students and played basketball and soccer.
The school setting reminded me of Katikamu, my secondary school.
I also made a couple of friends including the head girl...Miriam
Now i have to go the beaches in Gisenyi.
Till then
We had a meal with the students and played basketball and soccer.
The school setting reminded me of Katikamu, my secondary school.
I also made a couple of friends including the head girl...Miriam
Now i have to go the beaches in Gisenyi.
Till then
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