How things have changed over the years! Even visitors, who were last in Rwanda during the 90s, are always left speechless whenever they return to Rwanda. Fellow Diaspomen are also left in awe whenever they return and see for themselves the amazing things happening to this blessed country. One of these Diaspomen happens to be none other than Jean Claude, who once acted as our driver during the mid 90s. Those were the days when Aggrey and I used to carry loads of cash in our pockets. The cash was usually in form of US dollars. Now Jean Claude is back in town and his main interest is to visit Rubavu, the former Gisenyi town! He has fond memories of that place You see, during the mid 90s, Jean Claude was a young taxi driver in Gisenyi. Our paths happened to cross when Aggrey and I went to Gisenyi for our first ever weekend in this part of the country! Jean Claude offered to drive us around and take us to the then hot spots of Gisenyi. The hot spots were Tam Tam, Palm Beach and of course, across the boundary in Goma. We had been appraised about the numerous dancing joints and loads of brochettes and fried fish. There was a heavy presence of army men and officers. This was just a few months after the mayhem of the mid 90s. The streets of Gisenyi were colorful, thanks to the many army cars traversing the small town. There were sounds of the lake waves piercing through the cool evening sky, as revelers trekked down for the evening. Couples paced up and down the beautiful stretch of tarmac, decorated by incredible palm trees. Yeah! This surely had to be the Cape Town of Rwanda. Our first target was to find accommodation. Jean Claude led us to some cheap lodges located near the dusty taxi park of Gisenyi. We paid our deposits, had a quick shower and then set off for the Friday night. Dancing joints were already in high gear. Most of them were wedding parties. During those years, there were very many wedding ceremonies. A bigger percentage was weddings between army officers and young ladies who dreamt of getting married to an “Afande”. Once the lady hooked an Afande, the husband would henceforth salute her as her immediate superior in the chain of command. It did not take us long to identify a party. It was at Tam Tam and an army officer had thrown an engagement party. Congolese music blasted out from the large loudspeakers. We joined in and immediately started attacking lots of Amstels. Ladies clad in mini skirts flirted around causing tremendous amounts of high blood pressure. Our heads just kept darting from side to side as we attempted to catch glimpse of the next babe. In short, we had become car wipers! All of a sudden, I spotted an old schoolmate. He was clad in army uniform. In all the excitement, I dropped my glass of beer and rushed over for a big hug. It had been more than 5 years since I had met my schoolmate. He had grown much older and seemed to have an air of importance around him. He had escorts trailing behind him. He was happy to see me too. I introduced Aggrey and Jean Claude as my buddies. He offered several rounds of drinks and insisted that we check out from our lousy lodge and instead stay at his mansion by the lakeside. The party was becoming better and better. As I got more zonked, I realized that I had completely forgotten my schoolmate’s name. So I beckoned one of the escorts for advice. He then told me that his boss was popularly known as “Afande Niko”. This is because my old schoolmate always referred to everyone around him with the word “Niko” Afande Niko was visibly excited and I guess he tried his very best to impress upon us, how important he really was. That is why he lashed out at an elderly looking man who joined us at the counter. “Niko sha, uranzi neza?” The old man seemed to be less bothered by this smartly dressed Afande. He just stayed glued in his position. This really angered Afande Niko, who in turn reached out for the old man’s collar. In a flash, several young soldiers appeared from nowhere. They pointed their rifles at Afande Niko. The old man brushed his collar gently and ordered the soldiers to take Afande Niko away. Immediately, two hands got grip of Niko’s belt as other hands searched for his collar. He was then dragged out of the dancing place, like a goat heading for the slaughter. Apparently, the old looking man was a bigger Afande than Afande Niko himself!Upon witnessing the fiasco, we decided to sneak out as fast as possible and headed for our lodge. It was after we were safely at the lodge that we each released a long laughter. Afande Niko had met his match. Water always finds its own level. Doesn’t it? Those were the mid 90s. Today, the situation is completely different. Gisenyi boasts of some of the best hotels in the western part of Rwanda. Tourists flock the area in hundreds. I look forward to visiting this great place with our long lost Jean Claude who has returned from the Diaspora!
