Mainstory: A tale of two cities: Kigali and Kampala

KIGALI and Kampala may be 560km apart, but the bustling businesses that thrives between the two capitals can make one think they are twins. The Kampala-Kigali road is the busiest in the great lakes region. One businessman said, “I have breakfast in Kigali, lunch in Kampala and dinner with my family back in Kigali”. It’s as simply as that. The eight hour bus journey may seem daunting but for many it’s hop on, hop off the bus affair. Ask Ngabo Claude and he will tell you on Friday evening he will be kicking back in Angenoir, the happening Kampala hangout. But on Monday morning you’ll find him settled in Remera, Kigali, business as usual. Since 1994, Kigali and Kampala have lived more of a symbiotic relationship with the two cities relying on each other to thrive socially and economically. A sisterly relationship of sorts has developed. As a result, a very reliable transport system that links the two cities is now in place, on top of regular flights for those who cannot face the exasperating bus journey. Lately, the number of transport companies that ply the Kigali-Kampala road has grown. Kampala Coaches and Amahoro have hotted up competition for the already existing Jaguar, Gaso, Regional and the government owned ONATRACOM. As a result it’s now easy to traverse between the two cities anytime as one wishes. One wonders how the two cities of two landlocked countries manage to relate more conveniently than they do with the cities of Dar-es-Salaam and Nairobi, who have direct access to sea. The unique relationship between Kigali and Kampala seems to have developed through unifying similarities and mutually benefiting differences. It’s quite funny how the two sister cities share certain things in common. While in either city you find a place known as Kisementi, which means a pavement of sorts, or a verandah. But checking out the place be it in Kampala or Kigali, you don’t see a pavement but lavish restaurants, bars, supermarkets, wine shops and forex bureaus. In Kisementi, Kigali, you find Chez Lando, Stella VIP and many other happening places. Come to Kampala, you will find Fat Boys, Just Kicking and Al Zawadi bars. Both Kisementis are all well polished uptown places that every shopaholic or party animal should checkout. Such are the similarities in some parts of the cities that one might almost believe they were part of their counterpart next door. These are places seem to have been shipped from across the border. From the setting, the food, the music to the people, every inch exhibits the other’s characteristics. Come to Kampala and ask for Kasubi and Nakulabye surburbs. Chances are that the next person you meet will be speaking Kinyarwanda. There are hangouts in Wandegeya called The Link and Owens. Here you can order a Mutzig and the next person at the bar next to you speak will be speaking Kinyarwanda. Makindye, another neighborhood in Kampala, is well known for its Banyarwanda population and hangouts whose patrons are from Rwanda. While in Kampala, ask for Hakuna Matata in Makindye, there you will find your country mates in mounds. Now back in Kigali, places like Remera, Giporoso, Kabeza, Nyabugogo and Kicukiro are awash with Ugandans; there are restaurants serving Ugandan food and Luganda voices are clearly heard. In Kampala, traders from Kigali literally colonised a number of hotels where they stay during their visits to Kampala. In fact, you will not find any other patrons that are not Rwandese. In Hotel Pacific, I bump into a group of traders from Kigali in the lounge sipping cold Mutzig. I listen to their discussion and for a while I think I am somewhere in Kigali. Down at the parking yards of the Kampala-Kigali busses, as touts and luggage carriers move up and down and Kigali bound trucks are filled with all kinds of goods, every discussion goes on freely in Kinyarwanda. On the other side, Nyabugogo is all awash with bustling activities which all speak of Kampala. Contrasting scenes While the two cities have a lot in common, their differences are also overwhelming. Kigali is a lush, green and well organised city that is marked with clean, well paved roads. Traffic flows smoothly and the air is clean. While the commercial city centre is busy, activities go on in a well coordinated manner. The bars and restaurants play soothing music, people are friendly and warm. For a Kampalan visiting the Rwandan capital, it’s a taste of freshness and tranquility that relieves you of your weekly stress. Peter Ssenyondo, a trader in Kampala prefers to wind up his week by spending his weekend in Kigali. “Every weekend I go to Kigali to enjoy roasted meat and watch football in a calmer environment. By the time I come back to Kampala, am relaxed and ready to take on the week,” says Ssenyondo. Kampala is neither calm nor collected. It’s a city that bustles with life 24/7. The streets are all heaving with people; bodies rub against each other as the smell of sweat fills the air. The slow and weak can easily be knocked over and trampled. Piles of garbage and spill from a broken sewage pipe will soil your shoes if you don’t watch your step. Traders litter the roadside walks with merchandise; people are left to compete with the cars for the narrow road. Vehicles get locked up in traffic jams from morning to evening. Unlike Kigali where public transport is well organised, Kampala taxis and ‘boda bodas’ (motorbikes) fight it out for their share of passengers. When you are walking in Kampala, watch your back for you are likely to be knocked of by the speeding boda boda. For Kampalans, it’s something of a love/hate relationship with these boys who maneuver in and out of tiny spaces: a constant dread of being knocked over accompanies a dependence when traffic is bad and time is short. At the sound of “fasi…Fasi”, be sure to duck or else risk being knocked off your feet by a guy carrying a 1 tonne load on his head. Pickpockets also inhabit this suffocating crowd. Tighten your grip on that handbag or phone or you will soon be relieved of it and your neighbour won’t even flinch let alone help. If you are nocturnal, while Kigali is in bed by ten, Kampala never sleeps. Nightclubs and pubs blaring with loud music are all over. What are you waiting for? Hop on a bus and get to know your capital’s un-identical twin. Ends