You don’t know how to ‘party’ if you were in Kigali post COVID-19 lockdown and you never went to ‘Gisimenti’ car-free zone area.
Located at KG 18 Avenue in Kigali, Gisimenti was the ‘go to’ hangout for ‘party animals’ in Kigali every weekend from Friday to Sunday.
Streets around the area were closed to all kinds of motorists in the evening every weekend following a directive by the City of Kigali to bars and restaurant owners encouraging open-door gatherings to allow social distancing.
The once vibrant area however is no longer as packed as it used to be. Bars and restaurants owners are continuously closing their doors to business there.
Speculations have been made and reasons sited for the ‘fall’ of Gisimenti one being the ‘neophile’ nature of Rwandans.
“Rwandans are the kind of people that like to try new ‘shinny’ things and after they fade, they move on to what’s shinny at that moment”.
The re-construction of Amahoro stadium is believed to be another reason behind the current dull moments at Gisimenti. It is believed that many sports fanatics after watching matches at the stadium could go and refresh from Gisimenti.
Economists on the other hand blame the ‘failure’ of the spot to ‘miscalculations’ by the business owners and lack of innovation to create experiences that would make people interested and coming back.
