What’s in the name Kagame?

Ismael Kayiranga, a Rwandan driver, was traveling deep in Tanzania’s Capital, Dar-es-Salam, when he unexpectedly landed on a hotel named after Kagame; “Kagame Hotel Ltd”,  a 8 storey building.

“I could not imagine a Tanzanian making my president a brand name,” Kayiranga told KT Press. “President Kagame is a star not only in Rwanda, but also in the region.”

Ruth Mariam, the Marketing Officer for Jovago, a hospitality advertising company, which markets Kagame Hotel, says the hotel has been there for close to ten years now.

A 3-star hotel in Tanzania named after Kagame.

The 3-star Kagame Hotel is located along the Ubungo National Housing on Njilima Street.

The hotel has Suites, Deluxe and Standard rooms whose price range between Rwf 13,000 (36,942.45TZS) and Rwf 8,000 (22,733.81TZS).

The owner has installed high speed Internet for fear that if Kagame was to visit, he would not be happy since he is a tech-savvy president.

The facility does not have any other link with President Kagame, though. Rather, the name was chosen because they were inspired by his good leadership, says Mariam.

“We just like him (Kagame), this is the reason behind the name of the hotel,” she told KT Press.

Neither Kagame nor someone in the First Family has ever visited the hotel, but the hotel says it will be happy to receive them once.

Meanwhile, the brand name is also common in other parts of Africa, including Malawi, where there is a street  named after him.

Paul Kagame Road is located in Lilongwe, Malawi’s capital city.

No one has named his business after Kagame, except for families naming their new borns Kagame, with the latest being the one year old Paul Kagame from a humble family in Southern Rwanda.

Street in Lilongwe,Malawi named after Paul Kagame

Busy traffic on Paul Kagame Street in Lilongwe in Malawi