THE City of Kigali is undergoing an extreme makeover, with less than a week to the inauguration ceremony of Rwandan President-elect Paul Kagame, next week.
Kagame will be taking oath of office for his second term in office following a landslide victory in which he beat three challengers, who included a woman candidate, with 93.8%
Close to 30 heads of state and scores of friends of Rwanda have been invited to the ceremony but organizers say at least 14 heads of state have attendance of the event on September 6.
Foreign Affairs minister, Louise Mushikiwabo, told reporters Tuesday that the confirmations have mainly come from Africa leaders but added that they expect more by this week.
“We are yet to come to a conclusive figure, hopefully by tomorrow (today) will be able to provide you with a full list of who is attending,” she said.
Among those expected are regional leaders, including DR Congo President, Joseph Kabila, Kenya’s Mwai Kibaki, Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni and US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete is expected to send a representative.
Dozens of high-rise buildings are coming up and dotting the capital and its environs while leading roads in the city centre have been revamped in a record time, apparently to coincide with the event.
Several workers, most dressed in light green reflective jackets and armed with paint brushes and emulsion paint tins have been working on the road bridges over the last one week in a white and black pattern.
New street poles are up and now light dark alleys and streets while sidewalks have been paved and surrounding bushes cleared. Trees and flowers have been planted with mulch and are watered every evening.
“We are expecting (to put up quiet) a huge ceremony, the biggest Rwanda has ever seen,” one of the organizers said on condition of anonymity.”
Rehearsals by Police, Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) and civilian groups have been going on at the Amahoro National Stadium. Tens of thousands of people are expected to witness the historic event.
You can follow the proceedings here as www.kmp.rw will conduct a live webcast of the event.
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