UNLIKE the first Nyama Choma festival early this year, this weekend’s edition at La Parisse was a flop.

For an event that was supposed to start at midday, only a few revelers were at the venue by 4p.m.

Then to make matters worse, when the festival was trying to get some life at around 7:45PM, Police stormed the venue and ordered the event closed because of playing loud music.

Zacharia Mswati, one of the organisers, said he is yet to get a clear explanation from police over the incident. "Up to now I don’t know why they did this. We were authorised to hold the event.  I’m still seeking a clear explanation from police,” he said.

When contacted, Celestine Twahira, the Police Spokesperson, told The New Times on phone, that the organisers of the festival did not follow noise pollution regulations.

"There’s a regulated sound level for all events. People call us whenever they feel disturbed by noise in their neighbourhood. So if you have a festival that is noisy, expect such consequences,” Twahira said. 

Steven Mwangi  of Masters Lounge, Nyarutarama MTN Centre, attended the first festival and was expecting  a better food festival as he had slaughtered three goats expecting a to sell everything.

However, by the time the festival was prematurely closed, he had not sold even half of the goat meat. 

Some of the revelers who attended the previous festival in early March said it attracted more restaurants and people.

 "May be people are at the ongoing expo and will come later,” a reveler was overheard saying.

However, that never came to pass as almost everyone was gone by 8:30PM, for an event that was meant to close at dawn.

The festival attracted a number of restaurants and companies in food business including Rosty, Chairman’s Club, Kigali Fast Food, Royal Car Wash and La Parisse, among others.