From Kigali, I crossed Nyabarongo River and proceeded to Ntarama Genocide Memorial. After paying homage to 5,000 victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, I headed to the confluence of Akanyaru and Nyabarongo rivers. The two water bodies are part of a network of tributaries that form the upper headwaters of the Nile.
The merging spot of Akanyaru and Nyabarongo is an intriguing location. It is an adjoining point of Bugesera, Kamonyi and Nyarugenge districts. The merger of the two rivers give birth to Akagera River, which flows to Lake Rweru before merging with Ruvubu River to mark the genesis of Kagera River. Kagera in turn, empties into Lake Victoria. I don’t think I have ever mentioned so many rivers in one paragraph before. Today, we are talking about rivers. Bear with me.
Many moons ago, I came to my motherland through Kagera River. The first attraction I saw in this remarkable destination is Rusumo Falls, found at the border with Tanzania. At the time, I didn’t know where Nyabarongo turns into Akagera and, eventually, Kagera.
Before embarking on the exploration of Rwanda, I thought Nyabarongo River flows from Nyungwe National Park to Lake Victoria. As the grand tour of the Land of 1,000 Hills picked up steam, my familiarity with the region’s geographical features improved significantly.
The confluence of Nyabarongo and Akanyaru rivers
While riding along the Karongi stretch of the Congo Nile Trail, I found out that Nyabarongo begins where Mbirurume and Mwogo rivers meet. Albeit from a distant hill, I saw the two rivers joining forces to form the longest river in Rwanda.
About a year later, I stepped on the bank of Akagera River for the first time. This happened during an exhilarating off-road, adventure ride from Ngoma to Bugesera. It is the discovery of Akagera River that influenced my decision to find its source.
Over the past seven years, I have written a lot about Nyabarongo. Rwanda’s most popular river flows across all five provinces, forming administrative boundaries along the way. I stumble upon Nyabarongo and its tributaries quite often during my frequent tours.
I can’t say the same about Akanyaru River. I think I had never seen it before last weekend’s trip. If I had, I must have thought it was another stretch of Nyabarongo. After all, my ignorant self used to refer to every river in Rwanda as Nyabarongo.
Akanyaru River
Where is the source of Akanyaru River? While preparing for this tour, I tracked its course, on Google Maps, toward the opposite direction. I usually explore rivers backwards — from mouth to source, instead of the other way round. On the map, I saw Akanyaru meandering in and out of Burundi before disappearing in the deep south.
If the point of disappearance marks the beginning of its flow, then the source of Kanyaru River is in Rwanda. As mentioned above, the river zigzags in and out of the country throughout its course.
A number of smaller rivers pour into Akanyaru. These include Nyarubogo, Muvugutu, Mukunguri, Kaduha and Agasasa. At some point, Akanyaru River becomes Kanyaru River — the same way Akagera turns into Kagera. I will shed more light on Akanyaru and Kanyaru when I learn more.
From my Ntarama entry point, I marveled at Akanyaru and Akagera rivers. However, the view of Nyabarongo was obstructed by an islet formed at the crossroads. In a bid to take a closer look, I sought the services of a local boat operator and navigated three crocodile-infested rivers: Nyabarongo, Akanyaru and Akagera.
Akagera River
The wider marshland area is a sugarcane plantation. Since the genocide commemoration week was underway, most plantation workers had taken a day off to observe scheduled remembrance activities. However, a handful of young people were loading a big truck used to ship harvested sugarcane to the factory.
Some kids were swimming in a pool formed by a broken river bank. "Aren’t you afraid of crocodiles?" I asked them. "No, our swimming pool is not in the crocodile zone." They assured me that they were safe. That begs the question, did I risk my life to sail in a crocodile habitat? The boatman dismissed my concerns. However, he acknowledged the presence of man eaters in his office.
Members of the communities living near these rivers do not take safety measures seriously, in my opinion. A couple of years ago, I visited the entry point of Nyabugogo River into Nyabarongo River. From there, I pursued a trail snaking adjacent to the latter all the way to Gakenke. During a stopover in a small riverside settlement in Rulindo, I saw a few young men washing motorcycles and trucks on the edge of the river. Some of them were partially submerged in the water. Again, I wanted to know if they weren’t afraid of falling prey to the Nyabarongo predators.
"This pool is formed by a broken river bank. Although its content is from Nyabarongo, it doesn’t match the natural conditions preferred by crocodiles." One of them educated me. The rest nodded in agreement. Their reasoning didn’t make sense to me, but I am sure they know better.
Boat ferrying passengers from Bugesera to Kamonyi
"For how long have you been washing cars here?" I asked. "Three years." He responded. My follow-up question was: "How many crocodile-related accidents have been recorded here in those three years?" He claimed there had been zero cases.
What followed was a lecture on the characteristic features of a crocodile habitat. He went ahead to show me crocodile zones, while insisting that the location of their car wash is not one of them. I wished him and his team all the best and left before I became the first victim.
Back to Ntarama, I made a questionable decision to board a boat. Luckily, I survived to write this story. At a fee of Rwf 500 (approximately USD 50 cents), we cruised around the magical triangle.
My boatman propelled his engineless vessel by pushing a long pole against the riverbed. This kind of marine propulsion is known as punting. Last year, I tried my hand at punting while visiting Agbodrafo in the Maritime Region of Togo. Punting is fun, healthy and environmentally friendly.
My boat operator and his crew
