Where is Rwanda's 'akarubanda' today?

Kayeye in his comments on my previous article on ‘Ahantu rusange’ published recently in this newspaper provided a quick insight into Rwandan history, highlighting a very interesting trajectory of public space in Rwanda; that akarubanda (the public space) existed even before the coming of colonialists. “It was an absolutely inclusive public space where all had equal rights; was mostly an open space on the top of a hill, under trees or near a very important person’s home’. He sees the only difference between akarubanda and today’s public spaces as their locations, number of activities and designs. Where then is Rwanda’s ‘akarubanda’ today? An in-depth understanding of the character of well known public spaces in Rwanda would be useful to draw a recipe for effective public space, and further offering a spark that other areas can borrow to ignite and rejuvenate their public spaces which are vital to its urban life. My search for ‘akarubanda’ within the City of Kigali proved a jigsaw puzzle –it was a little difficult to get several people point a finger into a specific space and consensually call it a public space; the public realm as that space that is accessible to everyone unconditionally. It was therefore more tempting to start from the easy, straightforward answers. Unanimously, a lot of the people I spoke with pointed me to Lake Kivu beach in Rubavu and agreed that it is one of the most vibrant public spaces in Rwanda. Equipped with double lens, on the one hand to unearth the character of Lake Kivu beach and on the other hand enrich the Rwandan concept of public space-Ahantu rusange, the 164KM journey started. I already introduced you to Victor in my previous article, in his search for vernacular perspective of public space and who coincidentally also hails from Rubavu. Victor and I took a keen interest to study activities on Lake Kivu Beach. Upon arrival, on a Tuesday morning around 09:00, there were at least fifty local people on the beach; The majority (women and children) swimming in the lake near the place called Kugisima (a bridge that goes in into water), several people were standing on this bridge ‘a feeling of standing on top of water’- I can imagine. There were several boat operators, people just looking around and photographers waiting for clients who crave to take that important photo by the lake.There were a couple of artists selling their items. To me, this was a very inspiring moment, a moment to watch vibrant city life on a simple public space, with no fancy installations, just the people. It was indeed a different experience all together. An imagination of how this place would be like on a weekend could not fit in my little head. In the spirit of flânerie, or privileged urban observation, we found ourselves wanting to know more about this place and the people, through quick interviews. We spend two hours roaming around the beach and talking to different people. From a selection of our interviews at the Lake Kivu beach, people understood ‘ahantu rusange’ or public place as a beautiful, clean and safe place. A place they use to relax and hang out with their families and even make money out of the many people present (photography/boat-rides/pieces of art). These discoveries indeed rhyme with the globally accepted characteristics of great public spaces and it is obviously emphasizes thatthe production of vibrant public space needs no other magic than the people themselves. Great public spaces promote human contact and catalase social activities.Now, In Kigali we have three-fold the number of people than we have in Rubavu; consequently, would translate to three-fold number or vibrancy of public space in Kigali. Unfortunately, it does not seem to be the case. Back to my point of departure- why is it difficult to identify public space in Kigali? Could it be a case of them being non-existent or that we are not aware of them hence don’t use them? The urban life we observed in Rubavu may have the benefit of Lake Kivu that Kigali may never have, but it will definitely have many more other elements that can attract people to public space to socialize, interact and participate communally. What then would be the equivalent of ‘Kivu beach’ for Kigali citizens? It is a fallacy to imagine that the vibrancy we saw on Kivu beach has one and only that particular geographical context!No, fun is not scientific, it is social construct- it can happen elsewhere… anywhere people are…In this perspective, all Kigali residents are potentially users of public social space and as such are part of each other’s community practice. So why won’t we collectively activate several spots in the City of Kigali to vibrant akarubanda? The writer is an architect and urban designer with keen interest on the dialectical relations between Architecture and Society. josemwongeli@yahoo.com

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Where is Rwanda's 'akarubanda' today?