Gitega special
By Manu Gome
K
nown officially as Burundi’s 2nd
city, Gitega sits high up in the
hills, a two hour drive east of
Bujumbura.
My journey to this former colonial
capital of Burundi started in the most
ordinary way possible: I took a public
minibus.
I like to use Public Service Vans
(minibus) whenever possible because
you are sure something interesting will
happen on the way. This time was no
different.
From the half hour delay at Gare
du Nord because, after over an hour
of sitting in his van while it loaded
A typical day in Gitega . Photo credit- Dave Proffer
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passengers, the chauffeur realised
only after it was full that he needed
to change a tyre; to the comedic
passenger who kept ‘threatening’ to
get out of the van- for whatever flimsy
reason came to his mind- but never
did (even when the rest of us, fed up
with his antics, begged him to go);
to the fifth passenger in the first row
of the van who, on seeing the police
ran for the hills (literally) and left his
luggage in the mini-bus, my journey
was proving as entertaining as I had
hoped.
But there is another reason I like
to use minivans: I feel they give an
outsider a fairly good insight into the
character of a country’s ordinary folk.
As we sped up the excellent tarmac
road that winds through hills covered
in banana plantations, cassava,
climbing beans and tea, the easy
chatter of the passengers amongst
each other told of Burundians’
sociability; the man who shared his
roasted peanuts with the rest of the
passengers told of their generosity;
the woman who, looking at a cloud-