The treasure that is the KBC round-about

People normally fall in love with Kigali way before landing at the airport or as soon as they step on no man’s land in Katuna. It’s a shared feeling of home from the millions of smiles that greet a visitor. It’s in the beautiful green covered landscapes that hug the thousands of hills. Is love at first sight possible? Well in the case of Kigali, it definitely is. Taking a walk in Kigali can transport you to really exquisite places. Last weekend was one of those lay back Saturdays and I felt like I needed a break from the craze of motorbikes. The twegerane’s (taxis) were also not a great idea for me as well. I decide to walk instead. Just before passing the Kigali Business Centre (KBC) round-about I felt compelled to sit at the gardens and enjoy nature’s beauty. It was right before sun down and the sky was promising a very beautiful sunset. I knew it would be busy with bridal parties but a seat at the centre of the garden seemed to scream out my name. I thought, “Why not? I am in Kigali, I am free. I can sit wherever I want.” From the first time I sat there I felt unexplainable peace that seemed to come out not just from the beautiful scent of flowers but also from the freshness of the air. If you love cars, this is an ideal spot to note all the new arrivals or the old models that we should be rid of. The people in the cars are all in different moods, some chatting away while others drive in silence. There is a great feeling of sitting at a distance from a thriving centre of thousands of people and doing nothing, just watching the human activity. It’s soothing to take time out and just be an audience of something you spend your weeks being part of. There is a connection that we all have with nature that we can only feel but have no words to explain. It’s the serenity that engulfs one when seated alone in a so normal yet transforming site like this one. It’s in spots like this that dreams are made and empires created. Bridal parties streamed in and out just as I had expected. I gazed at them and tried to imagine what it meant to be in their spots with my whole life committed to someone. The uneasiness drew me to think even more about my strategic plans. I have passed this spot before. God knows I have ridiculed the existence of the gardens and the insistence of people to go there for photo shoots but I now know it would have been a great loss if on this day I bypassed it and ignored what ended up making my weekend. Its busy, it’s open but it is amazingly peaceful. Email pgathoni@gmail.com