The immigration officer at Kigali International Airport looked at my passport, then looked at me.
“What brings you back to Kigali?” he asked in a soft but firm voice. A thin bead of sweat almost broke down my face. Rwanda is known for its strict creed that all residents and foreigners alike must live by.
Back to Kigali? That startled me, initially. Previous stamps on my past visits to Rwanda had betrayed me.
“Once again, I want to experience your famed hospitality,” I told him. I have been to Rwanda about half a dozen times, often on official visits, conferences, and seminars mostly around conservation.
Twice, I have been to Musanze, the city on the foothills of the picturesque Mount Sabyinyo for the globally-acclaimed gorilla-naming ceremony, Kwita Izina, usually graced by President Paul Kagame.
Outside the airport, the air was a bit humid, a kind of summer, according to Matthew, our driver.
This was in stark contrast to a cold and cloudy Nairobi that we had left an hour earlier. Kigali was wide awake with hundreds of motorists eager to stake a claim in the ever-rising metropolis.
An equal number of boda boda riders, fully kitted with helmets (mandatory for both the rider and pillion passenger), waited patiently at the lights, unlike their counterparts in Kenya who dash across any intersection with little regard to their own, and their passenger’s safety. A traffic infraction in Kigali, however minor, can attract a hefty fine or a jail term. In Kigali, there is never room for any monkey business since ‘Sofia’, the street camera system, is always watching.
“We are here,” our driver says. “I hope you enjoy your stay in Kigali.”
We take a small flight of steps to the small but ornate lobby where large pieces of art hung on the walls, breath life through the small corridor leading to Fusion, the fine dining restaurant at Hemingways Kigali Retreat, the new farm to table fine dining restaurant and a studio of sorts where both local and exotic cuisine is crafted and has become a magnet reeling in visitors from all corners of the world.
As the name suggests, the boutique property was acquired a year ago by Hemingways Group, the Kenyan hospitality brand behind the hotels in Karen and Watamu, the latter well known for hosting deep-sea sport fishing expeditions.
“Habari za Nairobi,” asks Alvin from the front desk as I settle for some late breakfast. “Mko nyumbani hapa (feel at home).” Alvin, together with a few more staff members here, was seconded from Nairobi to set up and train locals in hospitality management. A few have even picked up the local language to the delight of their Rwandese colleagues.
Located on a hill in Kiyovu opposite the former presidential residence, the hospitality outfit first traded as Heaven Holdings and was started by American public health professionals Alissa and Josh Ruxin, who had moved to Rwanda in 2006. In 2008, they opened Heaven Restaurant, which set dining standards in a city that was ready for a global spotlight in hospitality.
Ten years later, they opened The Retreat, which was touted as Kigali’s leading 5-star luxury boutique hotel with twenty rooms, including eight super luxurious pool villas. Here, they hosted a range of celebrities including King Charles and Princess Camilla during their official visit to Rwanda last year.
I meet up with Richard Kimenyi, who headed the Nairobi outfit before his current posting as the country manager for the group in Rwanda.
The ever-bubbly Kimenyi is a veteran of the hotel industry in Kenya and perhaps one of the most resilient hoteliers in the region. In a career spanning over 40 years, Kimenyi is a survivor of the first terrorist attack in Kenya when a bomb exploded at the Norfolk Hotel, Nairobi, on Christmas Eve in 1980.
He escaped by a whisker. The Germany-trained hotelier had stints in some of Kenya’s top hotels, including Hilton, Mount Kenya Safari Club, and Outspan Hotel in Nyeri.
We sit at the restaurant with sweeping views of Kigali’s steep hills. A cocktail of Kari vodka infused with some black pepper kicks up a conversation about Kigali’s rise among African cities.
“This city is ready for take-off,” Kimenyi tells me. “Here things work like clockwork due to the infused work ethic. It’s all about good governance.” I concur.
The city’s landscape has changed since my last visit here three years ago. Clean streets, orderly traffic, a thriving commercial and residential sector and an industrious population that has the rest of the continent playing catch-up.
I have a few days to spend here and hopefully comb the inner sanctums of the city on the hills. But is it all work and no play? Find out in our next city hop.