Musanze district, a touristic hub of Rwanda woke up to a big loss following an inferno that gutted Muhabura Hotel in the night of October 14
Five bedrooms, a bar, a restaurant and a storeroom were reduced to ash and so was the kitchen where the fire is said to have started, though the trigger is yet to be known.
The hotel owner, Gaudence Rusingizandekwe said that though they have made a material loss, they have safeguarded the iconic brand of a hotel that pioneered tourism and hospitality development in Rwanda.
Muhabura which was named after one of the volcanoes from the volcano massifs, the volcano national park, home of the mountain gorilla, was built in the early 1950s.
This hotel hosted iconic names including conservationist Dian Fossey, the pioneer of gorilla conservation whose legacy is evoked every time the life of the endangered primates is on agenda.
“This hotel was built a Belgian national in 1954 under the name of Mimosa, only receiving colonialists. The only black person who was allowed to set a foot here was my father , Otto Rusingizandekwe because they considered him bright and thus, close to them,” recalls the current owner.
“My father did bot boast of that treatment, rather, he was angry that his fellow Africans were not allowed here. He therefore resolved to work hard and be able to purchase the hotel. In 1986, his dream came true when the founding owner returned home; he bought the hotel and rebranded it to Hotel Muhabura.”
The man who took over called this hotel Muhabura because he was amazed by the stunning beauty of the volcano which was outshining the rest in the massif. He knew, that one day, Muhabura will become a tourism attraction and his hotel, a hub of celebrities who would add on the list of Dian Fossey.
Gaudence Rusingizandekwe says that the loss in the hotel was that huge to an extent that they are still working together with the staff to remind all the things that were inside the facility to establish the exact cost.
“We have lost the heart of this hotel. It will be difficult to recover from this shock,” she said. “I am only thankful that there was no fatality.”
However, Rusingizandekwe is confident that their insurance company will work with due dilligence to pay the damages so that they can resume business as soon as possible.
“We are emotionally affected and will remain closed for a couple of weeks, but we hope to have our insurer bring us back in business soon, because we have good leadership,” she said.
