First impressions of Kin

I arrived in Kin on June 22. One of my bags got misplaced and ended up at the South African Airlines. It took me two days to retrieve it. The first time I attempted to get downtown to the office of the South African Airlines, my taxi got caught in a traffic jam from 11:45 to 3 p.m.  Massive bumper to bumper traffic jams are the bane of Kinois these days. Downtown roads are getting fixed and moving around the capital is a test of patience and nerves. Tempers fly high and some motorists come to blows. The second day, my taxi was able to get to the office of the South African Airlines on Boulevard du 30 Juin—where I was told my bag was instead at N'Djili Airport! Another hour-drive and I was able to retrieve my bag. At long last… 

These traffic jams have spawned a new breed of Kinois entrepreneurs:  taxi-motorcyclists.  These motorcycles-taxis are very practical to navigate the clogged roads. But this means of transportation is dangerous, I was told by friends and family when they found out I was biking around the city with Dolen, one of those taxi-motorcyclists…

Murdered rights activist Flori Chebeya was laid to rest on Saturday, June 26, not at the downtown Gombe Cemetery, but at Mbeseke. The body was first displayed at the Kintambo Vélodrome.

There was also a big interfaith event on Saturday. It was the launching at the Cathédrale du Centenaire in the Lingwala Commune of a 3-day fast and prayer for the nation's atonement. The 3-day fast and prayer was called by First Lady Maman Marie-Olive Lembe… The "keynote" prayer was said by Maman Marie-Olive Lembe who was profusely crying throughout! The evangelicals who were commenting on the event claimed the First Lady was akin to the biblical figure of Queen Esther! In this scenario, who the king, Mordecai, or Haman are, is anybody's guess…