Daniel Bey – the man, the myth, the legend. Well, a man, mythical to some, and legendary at least to me. I met Danny during law school. He was in the first year of the concurrent JD/LL.M. program, and given that I took many LL.M. classes, we had the opportunity to be in class together, and to work on Law Review with one another. All around great guy. Danny worked as an intern with the Ministry of Justice in their legislative drafting bureau for seven or eight weeks over the summer. Danny was tasked with showing me the proverbial Rwandan ropes my first day. Arriving on the eve of the Presidential election, Monday 9 August was declared a national holiday. Much of the country was shut down, at least until the early afternoon, to accommodating the voting process.
I called Danny and he took a moto (small motorbike taxi – cheapest way around town) and met me at the apartment where I was staying my first week (until I found my own place). It is in the city centre, and within walking distance to the Union Trade Centre, also known as UTC. It houses the African version of a Super WalMart, called Nakumat, which is open 24 hours, and is generally far more expensive than the open air market, of small stores around town. There are other stores and restaurants at the UTC, but again, paying a premium. We took at bus to the Supreme Court, just to see where I was working, and began walking towards Danny’s apartment, stopping for lunch at the Hotel Lyco for coffee and brochettes (French for kabobs). After a stop at Danny’s place for a beer, we continued our walking tour of the city, stopping every hour or so for a soda, or a beer. Some of the highlights included a bar called “The Space Joint,” and one called “La Nouvelle Monde.”
We came back to my side of town, and had a cliché dinner at one of the more touristy restaurants, Chez Robert, right next to La Hotel des Milles Collines (we went to Milles Collines first, but it was way way way too expensive!!!).
After dinner we met up with Danny’s (and now my) friend Bob Gakiire. Bob works in the Ministry of Local Governance, and spend the day as an election monitor in southern Rwanda. We had beer, and talked. It was a great time. What was tremendously interesting was the droves of people running, arms waved with excitement, towards Amhoro Stadium. Here the President, Paul Kagame, was holding a rally to celebrate the early election returns and his predicted re-election. Excitement was in the air, and it was truly marvelous to see the celebration of Rwandans at the re-election of their leader.
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