Diaspoman:The ever changing face of Kigali!

The towers cropping up everywhere in Kigali has left many of us in awe! The city is looking good. The transformation is quite unbelievable – even for us folks who reside here, we have to sometimes pinch ourselves to really believe what we are seeing today! My fellow Diaspomates have been tickled by this excitement and that is why they have also found it wise to send mega dollars back home! With these funds, they have been able to construct villas and commercial buildings in this evergreen and clean city. When I first came back from the Diaspora, Kigali was that same boring and mountainous town. During those days, our eyes would just feast on the multi storied building which was situated near the then old taxi park. That was the main building which attracted us to “town”. The rest was business as usual with people strolling along aimlessly, carrying plastic bags and feeling free to spit whenever and wherever they wanted. Those days, peoples’ saliva would rocket from all corners and you had to be very careful so as to duck away from such unpleasant missiles! When those unpleasant missiles hit your face, you had no choice but to wipe your face with a tissue. You couldn’t find a place to hurriedly wash your face. So, you would just swallow hard and take the hit. And if that missile had viciously hit your left eye, you would be lucky not to be knocked by a bicycle rider who would be speeding down towards the roundabout, crisscrossing between taxis and other vehicle users. During those days, motor bike riders never bothered using helmets. The risks were very high. But then things changed. Plastic bags were banned. Cyclists were advised to follow traffic rules. Motor bike riders and their passengers were told to use helmets. The riders are also seen in nice uniform to assist in proper identification. Pavements were constructed. A new and modern taxi park is under construction. Roads repaired. Street lights everywhere. Green grass and flowers brighten up the city. Sky Scrapers are emerging in every corner. Pedestrians are more hygienic. You will not easily catch someone spitting around. The water fountain at the roundabout brings about a cool breeze. Modern traffic lights counting down as well disciplined road users enjoy their security. Well dressed traffic police pacing up and down. Law and order! At the former old taxi park, the older buildings were renovated. Then the beautiful Kigali City Tower was completed. Wow! For our friends who had never seen such tall buildings, the task of stretching out the necks to ogle will be high. Little wonder that several sharp boys in town have started conning unsuspecting victims who find themselves looking towards the sky in admiration of the tower. Recently, an elderly man from deep in the village stopped by the Kigali City Tower and stood in amazement. As he looked on, two young men approached him and demanded for payment. “Mzee, you are supposed to pay 100 francs for every floor that you have been staring at – so Mzee how many floors had you reached?” In a frightened mood, the old man confessed that he had stared at the building from the 1st floor to the 5th floor. Okay pay up quickly! The Old man then pulled out his hard earned coins. He counted 5 coins and handed them to the conmen who fled the scene smiling. Then the old man picked up his bags and also rushed off smiling to himself as he muttered: “People in Kigali are not clever, imagine I had reached the 8th floor but I only paid for 5 floors – nabaswa pee”! diaspoman@yahoo.com