Nyanza is a district (''akarere'') in Southern Province, Republic of

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

. Its capital is Nyanza town, which is also the provincial capital. ''Nyanza'' is a

Bantu Bantu may refer to: *Bantu languages, constitute the largest sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages *Bantu peoples, over 400 peoples of Africa speaking a Bantu language * Bantu knots, a type of African hairstyle *Black Association for National ...

word meaning ''lake'', which probably refers to the small body of water created by a dam to the west of Nyanza town and sometimes referred to by the local residents as “Ikiyaga” or lake. which probably refers to a large lake to the west of Nyanza city.

Geography

The

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

lies between

Ruhango Ruhango is a town and capital of the Ruhango District in Southern Province, Rwanda. References Populated places in Rwanda Southern Province, Rwanda {{rwanda-geo-stub ...

and Huye straddling the main

Kigali Kigali () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali has been Rwa ...

Bujumbura Bujumbura (; ), formerly Usumbura, is the economic capital, largest city and main port of Burundi. It ships most of the country's chief export, coffee, as well as cotton and tin ore. Bujumbura was formerly the country's normal capital. In late ...

road. The

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

of Nyanza requires a turn off the main road.

Nyanza's economy

Nyanza covers a total

surface A surface, as the term is most generally used, is the outermost or uppermost layer of a physical object or space. It is the portion or region of the object that can first be perceived by an observer using the senses of sight and touch, and is ...

area of 672 Sq Kilometres and has a population of more than 320,000 people (according to the 2012 national Census). The bulk of Nyanza's economy is agriculture based. According to the District Development Plan 2013-2018 and Rwanda's medium term economic development strategy document –the EDPRS II, the

looks up to its young private sector to fuel its ambitious transformation agenda.

Transport

It is a -hour

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

ride to Kigali, a -hour bus ride to

Muhanga Muhanga (former Gitarama, renamed in 2006) is a city in Rwanda, in the Muhanga District, in Southern Province. The city is above sea level. Though officially part of the Southern Province, Muhanga is geographically in central Rwanda, approxim ...

, a one-hour bus ride to Huye, a 30-minute bus ride to Ruhango and a 16-minute bus ride to Gatagara. The bus station is in the center of Nyanza town, next to the outdoor but covered market. The main

companies serving Nyanza are Volcano or Horizon, which leave every half hour and seat about 28 passengers. There are also smaller vans known as Twegerane buses that fit in as many people as possible and depart when full.

Nyanza Umwami Palace

The palace of the last umwami (traditional king) of Rwanda (King Mutara III Rudahigwa, who reigned from 1931 to 1959) is located within walking distance of the town center and is the town's main tourist attraction. There, one can see the king's traditional palace living arrangements and the modern palace built by the

Belgians Belgians ( nl, Belgen; french: Belges; german: Belgier) are people identified with the Kingdom of Belgium, a federal state in Western Europe. As Belgium is a multinational state, this connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultur ...

for the king. A Rwandan woman dressed in an umushanana (Rwanda's silky, flowing traditional dress) guides visitors through the palaces. The highlight of the tour is the unusual Inyambo cattle, known for their enormous heavy horns. Traditionally, the

cows Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

were prized by the royal rulers. Visitors may touch a cow and have their photos taken with the

cow Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

while a traditional herdsman sings to the cow. The grounds are nicely

landscaped Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor areas, landmarks, and structures to achieve environmental, social-behavioural, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic design and general engineering of various structures for constructio ...

. There is a large covered outdoor restaurant and coffee shop overlooking the gardens in front of the modern palace of the king. On the road to the King's Palace, one passes Nyanza town's two

dairies A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on a ...

: Nyanza Milk Industry and Zirakamwa Meza Dairy. They produce milk and yogurt.

Art Museum

Art Museum An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own Collection (artwork), collection. It might be in public or private ownership and may be accessible to all or have restrictions in place. A ...

is another tourist attraction is the former, which is currently in transition to another type of museum. The view from the

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

of the surrounding hills is breathtaking. Currently, that museum has a children's art room and many photographs of

Rwandans The Banyarwanda ( rw, Abanyarwanda (plural), Umunyarwanda (singular), lit=those who come from Rwanda) are the cultural, tribal and linguistic group of people who inhabit mainly Rwanda. Some Banyarwanda live in the Democratic Republic of the ...

and Rwandan life. The large building was built for the King. However, he never lived in it before he left Rwanda. Both the art museum and the King's Palace have large parking lots, restrooms and small gift shops selling Rwandan crafts, tee shirts, etc.

Hotels in Nyanza town

Nyanza town has a number of

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

s and

motel A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central lobby. Entering dictionaries ...

s. The two largest are The Heritage Hotel and Dayenu Hotel. They each have upscale restaurants and are located in the center of town. The Dayenu Hotel has an outdoor swimming pool and beautiful grounds, including an outdoor bar and a playground. The nearest motel to the bus station is The New Life Motel, which also serves food and has a bar. Also close to the bus station is the Inyambo Motel. On the way into town near the Bank of Kigali are the Free Motel and the Ideal Motel. About halfway to the King's Palace from town is the Boomerang Motel, which has a small restaurant and bar.

Banks in Nyanza town

Nyanza has two banks: The

Bank of Kigali Bank of Kigali (BK) is a commercial bank in Rwanda. It is licensed by the National Bank of Rwanda. Location The headquarters and main branch of the bank are located at 6112 KN4 Avenue, in Nyarugenge District, in the city of Kigali, the capital a ...

, on the road into town, and the

Banque Populaire du Rwanda BPR Bank Rwanda PLC (BPR PLC; rw, Banki y'Abaturage y'u Rwanda), formerly Banque Populaire du Rwanda SA, is a commercial bank in Rwanda. The bank is licensed by the National Bank of Rwanda, the central bank and national banking regulator. Overv ...

(BPR) located in town on the road from Nyanza town to King's Palace and across from the Heritage Hotel. Both banks have ATMs. Nyanza has a hospital, a few clinics and several pharmacies. Its outdoor market has a fruit and vegetable section, a large section of beans and a section where vendors sell live

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...

s and

rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...

s. There are also sections for hardware, fabric, shoe repair, tailors, second hand clothing, shoes, cell phone and watch repair, kitchenware, bedding, farming implements, flour, sugar and oil. Vendors also sell backpacks, colorful cloth bags and personal care items. Many tailors and seamstresses work long hours in the market, sewing clothing. On the streets around the market are stores selling food, gifts, cell phones, office supplies and sundries.

Education

In the town has at least two institutions of

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...

: the University of Lay Adventists (UNILAK), on the road into Nyanza, and the Institute of Legal Practice and Development (ILPD), located on the road to the King's Palace at the intersection of the Avenue des Sports. ILPD hosts a six-month residential post-graduate diploma course, offering practical legal education. Many of its students come from other

African countries This is a list of sovereign states and dependent territories in Africa. It includes both fully recognised states, states with limited or zero recognition, and dependent territories of both African and non-African states. It lists 56 sovereign state ...

. ILPD also hosts short continuing education classes in law or law-related subjects for judges, lawyers, investigators, bailiffs and others. A new addition to ILPD will be completed in 2019, doubling its size. Across from ILPD are a series of small shops, servicing the local populace as well as students from ILPD.

Nyanza Stadium

Nyanza town has a large

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

, located just past ILPD. There,

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

(soccer) matches are held. ILPD uses the

for its graduations and its staff vs. students football matches. Also, festivities for Umuganura (Rwandan public holiday celebrating the harvest and giving thanks, which Rwanda claims has been celebrated for 1,800 years), National Liberation Day and National Heroes Day take place at the stadium. Beyond the stadium is Nyanza's cemetery, where both

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

and

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

are buried. On the last Saturday morning of every month, the citizens of Nyanza participate in Rwanda's community service work projects called Umuganda, which may be road widening, picking up litter, terracing, weeding or building a house for a needy person. During Umuganda, all shops and the market are closed. On the road to the King's Palace is Nyanza's main Memorial in remembrance of the

Genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...

Against the Tutsi in 1994. In April of each year, people gather at the memorial to hear speeches, songs and poems to never forget what happened and for the future to say “never again.”

Sectors

Nyanza district is divided into 10

sectors Sector may refer to: Places * Sector, West Virginia, U.S. Geometry * Circular sector, the portion of a disc enclosed by two radii and a circular arc * Hyperbolic sector, a region enclosed by two radii and a hyperbolic arc * Spherical sector, a p ...

(''imirenge''): Busasamana, Busoro, Cyabakamyi, Kibirizi, Kigoma, Mukingo, Muyira, Ntyazo, Nyagisozi and Rwabicuma.

References

*
Inzego.doc
— Province, District and Sector information from ''MINALOC'', the Rwanda ministry of local government. {{coord, 2, 30, S, 29, 30, E, display=title, region:RW_type:adm1st_source:GNS-enwiki Southern Province, Rwanda Districts of Rwanda