By 7pm, good music was already filling up the air as DJ Ira turned the decks at the Gisimenti car free zone. She was followed by Symphony Band who also played Amapiano sounds and old school music that got the crowd wild. Despite it being a Monday evening, the start of a busy week for many, thousands of delegates showed up for the Kigali Street Festival. At around 10: 40 PM RnB singer Kenny sol stepped on stage, singing Ikinyafu, ‘Joli’, and ‘Hustle’ among others, the energy, vibe and joy was all at another level. Revelers who attended the festival only had praises for the city and show. Andrew Constantine from Mozambique said that Kigali is not only a very vibrant city but also a clean one. “The city has very lively young people who are good at what they do. The session was very constructive and the entertainment part was fantastic, I feel like I am home already. Is it possible for me to stay in Kigali? I have made a lot of friends already; I feel at home,” he said. Raissa Atete a student at African Leadership University said that the festival was fun, the youth forum was interesting and the delegates came with a vibe “Some delegates said we live in paradise and asked whether this is our lifestyle or if we are just impressing the guests. We did impress them for sure, but I assured them that this is our lifestyle,” she said. For Kule from South Africa, Rwandans are very patriotic who “dont pretend to love their country, they actually do love it. “Kigali is a multicultural city. I feel like South Africans have been favored. We have been welcomed very nicely, I am in love with Kigali, I’m not staying but with the nice people, food and music I would like the idea of staying. It feels good to hear music from my home played everywhere I kind of forgot am not in South Africa but the clean streets remind me that I am in Kigali, I will surely visit Rwanda again”, he said Aimable Harerimana, a waiter in one of the coffee shops at GisimentI said that the atmosphere had a different feel. “We are usually happy but today has been extremely energetic with different cultures and vibes, everyone is extremely having fun. We are very happy and excited about the visitors.”
