Over 100 years ago Richard Kandt, a German physician and explorer came to Africa, chose Rwanda as his home of residence.
Kandt first came to Rwanda in 1887 as an explorer and spent four years looking for the source of Nile. And even when David Livingstone had suggested that the source of the Nile was Uganda’s Lake Victoria, Kandt opposed this reasoning that the waters of Lake Victoria had their sources from rivers in Rwanda. To date, this remains a topic of debate.
At that time, Kigali hosted a population of approximately two thousand (2000) people, including four hundred and twenty (420) foreigners who were mainly Indians and Arabs, including nine Germans.
Kandt’s choice of Rwanda for a residence was apparently because of its central location and good climate.
His house was a European style residential brickhouse, and to date, it’s the only remaining building of the former Boma village.
Located on the Nyarugenge Hill in Kigali city, ‘The Richard Kandt’ house was turned into a natural history museum in 2004, the Kandt House Museum of Natural History.
A tour of the museum
Jeremie Bizimana, the museum guide, explained that this was the first modern house built in Rwanda in 1908.
And now as a museum, the structure strives to show the evolution of life, description of flora and fauna of Rwandan natural parks.
One part of the museum harbours reptiles mostly, some of these include snakes and crocodiles.
Richard Kandt’s statue at the front of the museum. / Bertrand Byishimo
Today, Kandt House Museum comprises three main parts: The first part presents Rwandan life in all its aspects (social, economic, and political) before the colonial period.
The second part, which is the biggest one of the museum, traces experience of Rwandan people during the colonial period, more specifically under the German rule from 1884 (the time of Berlin conference), throughout colonial administration, World War I, to mention but a few; up to 1916, including Richard Kandt’s life and his deeds in Rwanda.
The museum has exhibitions of live snakes. / Net photo
Another eye-catching part of the gallery is the third part that has the history of Kigali; before colonial time, during colonial, and its naissance as a capital city is well presented.
Last but not least, it is the only remaining mark of the former Natural History Museum, that is; a temporary exhibition of live snakes, and a baby crocodile.
Kandt House Museum of Natural History is one of the eight museums in Rwanda; some of these include Rwanda Liberation Museum, Rwanda Art Museum, the Ethnographic Museum, the Environmental museum, the King’s Palace Museum and Rwesero Art Museum which was Mutara III Rudahigwa’s residential house.
Several lessons can be drawn from a single tour of this particular museum.
Resonating with Kandt’s views, the museum guide explained that the hills of Rwanda are a result of an eruption that took place two thousand years ago before Christ (2000 B.C).
"Before eruption, all rivers flew to the eastern part of Rwanda, it was after the eruption that Rwanda turned into ‘a land of a thousand hills.’ Most rivers started flowing to the west. This explains why Kandt claimed that the source of Nile was Rwanda,” Bizimana said.