Lucky Dube night celebrated with pomp

White Horse, a popular restaurant in Kigali, was packed with flurry of events on Thursday night, as the a Rastafarian community celebrated the life and times of the late Lucky Philip Dube, a man who saw Rwanda as his second home. The fifth memorial celebration of the slain reggae musician was celebrated amid pomp, colour and glamour. Dressed in the Rastafarian colours- red, yellow, and green – one after another, they trickled into the venue with praises of their hero. Fans showed up at the concert in Rasta farians accessories and clothing, with many carrying posters decorated with Rasta colours.As this was happening, the sound systems were being put in place inside the dancing hall. The testing of the drum sets and guitar occasionally brought euphoria of some sort out side. As the night progressed into late hours so did the parking bay grow bigger and a sizeable crowd of people were seen mingling and catching up on the latest gossip.The aisles in the club grew smaller and, often than not, the waiters would raise the trays above the crowd and what you could see next is the movement of the tray on top of people’s heads. The proprietor of the business, Edward Gaperi, drove out several times with empty crates only to return back with full ones. The New Times caught up with him for comments on the event. “Amazing, it’s impressive,” he said, as he issued some instruction to his staff.Asked to comment on the event, Ras Bosco said, “I am happy the Rastafarian community is fast growing in Rwanda and each year the crowds continue swelling as we remember our mentor and hero.” Ras Mukasa recalls his last moment with Dube on his last trip of his three trips to Rwanda: “I was with him carrying the lions of Judah’s flag as Lucky Dube waved to the crowd on his way from the airport,” he recollected, with tear eyes.The event, sponsored by Nakumatt, Radio Flash, Kigali Connect, among others, saw two bands The Mystic Revelation and an energetic Kids Voice perform, with calls from the fans on unity and peace being echoed again and again in the region.But the night did not end without drama. Some were not strong enough that that the drinks spoilt their night as they were assisted from the dancing hall to their vehicles... if they had any that is. And as morning approached, the crowd was sliced bit by bit to leave an empty dancing hall. The crowd partied the night away to celebrate the best selling reggae artiste in Africa.

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Lucky Dube night celebrated with pomp