"Rwanda is a one-city country. Everything about the country revolves around the capital - Kigali."
I had long nursed the idea of visiting Kigali, Rwanda's capital, given the exciting stories of infrastructure development, well-paved network of roads and other beautiful things I had heard about that country. When, therefore, I needed to travel to the United Kingdom in late last year, I decided to route my trip through Kigali aboard RwandAir. So November 28, 2025 was my first trip to Kigali and my first on RwandAir, as well.
The wonderful experience I had on RwandAir more or less offered a pleasant hint of the trip itself. Indeed, everything about the trip was flawless. The aircraft we flew in was new and clean. The check-in formality was faultless; the cabin crew were excellent. It was a five-and-a-half hour or so flight, but it didn't feel like I spent up to five hours on the plane. Everything went smoothly that it seemed time simply rolled by.
Within minutes of arrival at Kigali International Airport, I had recovered my luggage and passed through immigration with the help of Oluwaseun Akande, a senior official from the Nigerian Embassy in Kigali, who was on hand to receive me and accompany me to the hotel.
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Kigali International Airport is quite small, but what it lacks in size it offsets with an appealing design. A first-time visitor like me cannot help but notice the sheer beauty and cosiness of this airport. It's also very functional and efficient. The services available at the airport were excellent. The internet wifi was smooth and fast.
Having effectively settled in 2000 Hotel in the heart of Kigali, described as a 4-star hotel, I now began to plan my itinerary.
I decided to pick a hotel in Downtown Kigali because I really wanted to explore the city, catch a full glimpse of Kigali, meet and interact with the locals. As I indicated, I was en route to London and planned to spend only three nights in Kigali.
The three nights must be well utilised, consistent with the trip's objectives to know virtually everything about Kigali: the culture and tradition, the people, their history, and the tourist spots.
Oluwaseun proved very useful in that respect. Along with a few tourists I encountered at the hotel, I visited several places including the Fazenda Sengha, Mount Kigali, Kimironko Market and, of course, the Genocide Memorial. Chauffered by my Rwandan cabbie, who simply gave his name as Godwin, I also went round the city centre to see some of the important places like Kigali Government House, President Paul Kagame's residence, some embassies, big conference centres and major hotels.
Fazenda Sengha is an impressive recreational park. Its features include zip lines, archery, horse/donkey ride, train ride, paintball, and of course a restaurant and a bar. From this park erected on a mountain, one could get a bird's eye view of Kigali. A river that snakes its way through the whole of Kigali can also be viewed. It was at this place that I saw donkeys again after a long time, and even rode on one.
At Mount Kigali, a prominent hill in the city, which is 1,853 metres high, one can also have a panoramic view of the entire Kigali. Standing at the summit of Mount Kigali, this awesome hill is easily the main attraction in Kigali.
Rwanda is a one-city country. Everything about the country revolves around the capital - Kigali. I was told there was no point visiting any of the other towns and villages, which are predominantly rural and far-flung places, because they featured virtually nothing remarkable.
Notwithstanding this, President Kagame has made tremendous impact on Rwanda's development. According to official documents in Kigali, the hallmarks of Kagame administration are peace and reconciliation, women empowerment, promotion of investment and entrepreneurship and access to information technology.
On the streets of Kigali, President Kagame is good news. The people visibly adore him and commend his impact on the country. His residence is a sprawling structure next to the Government House. The sheer majesty of his residence is understandably so, given his status as the president.
Reminded that Kagame has been in office since April 2000 and was recently sworn in for a new five-year term in August 2024, my cabman Godwin simply retorted: "That is not important to us. He is doing well and we love him. He treats all of us equally. Our country is okay. We don't count how long he has been in power."
The impressive sights nonetheless, this is an unsolicited advice to President Kagame: after 26 years in power and still counting, it's time he started thinking seriously of grooming a suitable successor to continue with his progressive policies, and quitting the stage when his present term expires. Otherwise, he would be putting at risk the good legacies he has built in the country and the huge impact he has made on Rwandan people.
Like I said, that was unsolicited. The three-day trip to Kigali was generally eventful. It was exciting. There is so much to write about. Yet, there were also depressing and humbling moments during the trip. This was at the Kigali Genocide Memorial, built to commemorate the 1994 Rwandan genocide as a place of remembrance for the more than one million victims of the genocide against the Tutsi.
Inside this memorial, the remains of over 250,000 people, the bones of those massacred - mostly Tutsis - are interred. In this place, one is confronted with grim stories and pictures of how the Hutu turned against the Tutsi; how brothers turned against brothers, friends against friends, families who had all along related well and inter-married turned against one another. The graves were well arranged in this large and sombre ground, evoking the tears and blood that flowed from the Rwandan civil war.
Some accounts of those who survived the genocide were also pasted on the walls of the memorial centre.
In his book "Conspiracy To Murder: The Rwandan Genocide," Linda Melvern gave a chilling account of the killing in Rwanda during the war, quoting a part of the report of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) issued on April 29, 1994: "Whole families are exterminated, babies, children, old people, women are massacred in the most atrocious conditions, often cut with a machete or a knife, or blown apart by grenades, or burned or buried alive. The cruelty knows no limit."
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As I criss-crossed the memorial, moving from one room to another, from one point to another, reading the narratives and viewing the haunting and saddening pictures, tears welled in my eyes. I prayed silently that this should never happen anywhere again to any set of people or nation.
Those alleging genocide in Nigeria and spreading the narrative of genocide do not know what they are talking about. Yes, Nigeria is battling security issues. Yes, there are killings, very unfortunate and disturbing, but the government is confronting them headlong. However, there is no genocide in Nigeria, whether of Christians or Muslims, and we should not pray for one. Anyone who has seen the magnitude of the Rwandan massacre as documented in Kigali Memorial will perfectly understand this fact.
We must commend President Kagame for his post-war efforts on peace and reconciliation, and the people of Rwanda for how they have all embraced peace after the ruinous genocide. Speaking on his own personal efforts in maintaining peace after the war, Lydie Mutesi, a guide officer at the Kigali Genocide Memorial, wrote on the wall of the centre: "The memorial is a very important place. I feel responsible and humbled because I'm contributing to teaching the world and my community about building peace after genocide."
*Tunde Rahman is a journalist and media aide of Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu.
