By Dolapo Aina
The unique zest synonymous with and peculiar to laidback Kigali is gradually re-surfacing after the lockdown was lifted after the third wave and most importantly, after the curfew was moved to between 10pm -4am in the first week of September 2021. The traffic jams, the zooming motos (commercial bikes), the bustling commercial activities in several areas like Kisimenti in Remera, Remera, Nyamirambo, downtown, Kimironko to name a few are returning to the days pre-covid. When the curfew was between 4am to 8pm, when activities and movements ended by 8pm, and discussing with several business owners, one could deduce from interactions that business activities had not picked up (aside tourism activities which had a green pass and corridor) and commercial activities could not move into the next gear due to the 8pm shutdown of designated sectors, cities or cells in the country.
The adjusted curfew changed all that and it allowed for more certainty vis-à-vis commercial activities. And this is evident in the city of Kigali, as one can observe people going about their daily activities on the roads or streets, in their offices or in their shops with the ubiquitous facemasks still being worn by all and sundry. This continuous facemask wearing sensitisation by the appropriate government institutions is second nature to most residents of cities in the land of a thousand hills that it is usually a surprise for this writer to hear from a few African visitors to Rwanda who are bewildered to see people still religiously wearing their masks or punching fists instead of shaking hands.
Several factors can be attributed to the gradual return to a resemblance of pre 2020 Kigali (intertwined with covid19 adherence) normalcy. One of such is the “follow the statistics and science stance” of the authorities to confronting the COVID-19 pandemic. This has made it easy for citizens and residents to keep up to date with figures from across the country, so one pretty much has an idea of what is where etc (transparency in the dissemination of information on the curtailment of the virus and the distribution of vaccines) Another factor is the logistics adopted in transporting COVID-19 vaccines (in record time) as soon as the vaccines arrive as the Kigali International Airport. Needless to say, with people getting vaccinated, with COVID-19 measures and adherence still high; the land of a thousand hills is slowing but gradually returning to her status quo.
Dolapo Aina writes from Kigali, Rwanda
