Did I tell you about that time when the Rasta's marched to talk to the Governor of South Kivu?

One cool morning I woke up to a phone call. At the other side of the line Raissa mumbled: I am going down town to cover the Rasta's march to the Governor's office, do you want to come with me?

Of course I did.

The Gathering

I picked up Raissa on a moto-taxi, and once we arrived to the meeting point, and while waiting for the opening mass to finish, I asked Raissa what was the parade exactly all about; she did not know. However, It was quickly brought to my attention that it was the 11th of May, and the parade was taking place to commemorate the 41st death anniversary of Robert Nesla Marley.

That which was verbalised again and again among those participants which I talked to, was the celebration of the idea of One Love: the universal love and respect for all people regarding of race, creed, or colour.

After the mass, the first group of Rastas started gathering near the cathedral of Notre-Dame de la Paix.

A typical scene in Bukavu; Whenever something happens in town, one can easily spot a group of curious motards trying to find out what is going on, and of course, hoping to make some clients while at it.

While the representatives of the Rastadari's Union of Bukavu gather on one side of the street, the rest of the participants wait under the trees shade for the parade to get going.

The representatives and top tiers of the Rastafari's Union of Bukavu pose with family members for the ordinary photos before starting the parade.

I was not surprised to hear that there was a Rasta's collective in town, after all, this is the closest I have ever been to Ethiopia. What it did not occur to me, is that Bukavu will actually have an organised movement with his different fractions and respective 'tiers of command'. As I will learn throughout the day, there were different fractions within the collective with very different opinions about what the Rastafari's movement in Bukavu should be all about.

The Parade Starts

While I understood the spirit of celebration and need to promote the values of One Love, I could not help wondering why were we walking to the governors office. One of the participants told me that beyond the festive commemoration of Bob Marley's death, the demonstration was taking place to fight the stigma associated with those which identify and look as Rastas. One of the attendants told me that:

'Rastas are continuously treated as stoners, little more than criminals, only concerned with smoking weed and listening to reggae music, characterized for their laziness and irresponsible behaviour, and simply not worth to society.'

In a way the parade was a call to stop a cultural form of discrimination.

To the left, Mutambala Kabugu Immortel, chief representative of the Rastafari's Union of Bukavu, giving instructions of how the parade should be organised.

The start of the parade.

As the parade made his way to the governor's office, more participants joined the line and the one love Rastafari chants.

Front of the line, the private security hired for the event holding hands with the son and daughters of both Rastafari Union representatives.

I founded the presence of private security quite an oxymoron with the Rastafari's ideals of universal peace. But then again, although being quite a safe space, which is currently not touched directly by the armed conflict, Bukavu is nevertheless part of the larger warscape the provinces of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo represent; and the militarisation of society in its many forms is part of the deal. The general sense of (In)security has a tendency to make use of private security arrangements, and this ranges from the protection of banks and petrol stations to supermarkets and bars.

Rasta's march down the Avenue Patrice Emmery Lumumba while carrying flags with images of both, Haile Selassie and Immortel, the representative of the Rastafari Union of Bukavu.

Passing by Bukavu's solar powered robot intended to regulate the traffic at Feu Rouge, one of the busiest intersections in the city.

The demonstration took place orderly without causing any impediments to the normal circulation, which is quite an achivement taking into account how Chaotic Bukavu's streets can get sometimes.

Arrival to the Governor's office

The final destination- South Kivu governor's office.

People chanting and raising their fists and peace singer signs while observers gather to see what was happening in this often quiet part of town.

Demonstrators waiting to catch the governor's attention.

The top representatives of the Rastafari Union of Bukavu posing in front of the governor's cabinet office.

Demonstrators waiting for the head representative to make his statement.

Symbolic stand up in front of the governor's office.

Once we arrived to the Governor's office and while waiting for some sort of response, the top Representative of the Rastafari's Union, read his memorandum to the attendants. The Message was clear:

The Rastafari's social movement is based on the One Love philosophy, and instead of being stigmatised by society as criminals they should be included in the peace efforts taking place the Kivu provinces. Rasta's overall message is that of love and respect for all living things, and as such, they see themselves able to contribute to the stabilisation efforts in South Kivu, particularly by bringing unity to its people.

After a while, a man on a black suit came outside the gated building and asked for 4 representatives to come inside to talk. They made clear that they wanted two man and two women- to which Raissa, one the few women participating, was pulled in as a spoken person for the Rasta's movement of Bukavu. Quite funny if you ask me.

The visit was short lived, about 40 minutes. When Raissa came out I asked what happened inside. She was quite vague about it, for the real meeting took place in private between the top representatives on both sides. For what she told me, after some greetings and introductions the conversation started by the office making clear that the parade was illegal, and if they were to do it again, they should ask for permission. Subsequently, and apparently, the governor's office listened to the Rasta's memorandum in private and told them that they will be in touch.

I checked a few local newspapers during the consecutive days to see if some more information was available, but nothing beyond the demonstration taking place appeared on the local news.

Time to celebrate

After talking to the governor, the Rastas collective gathered at Le Sud-Etoile bar in Feu Rouge.

Inside the Sud Etoile. At the back of the room, the head representatives of the movement sit together to discuss matters moments before giving their speeches.

After the visit to the governor's office, we went back to Feu Rouge where the the Rastafari's Union had organised a celebratory evening at the Bar 'Le Sud Etoile' (quite a cool place with if you ever happen to be in town). People were welcomed in, and after a few speeches the representatives told us that they had paid for a few bottles and liquors and everybody was welcome to drink from them. It was time to sing, dance, and celebrate the One Love philosophy. Politics however were not done, the top tiers of the movement used this festive time to exchange views and opinions about the movement.

A good old bottle of Rum, the preferred beverage among the participants.

At one point one of the participants even asked me if I was a white Rasta myself. This caught me by surprise but then again, he explained that it could be, the philosophy of One love is all about inclusion. In the words of Ivorian singer Alpha Blondy:

T'es pas obligé de fumer ganja pour être un rasta...

T'es pas obligé d'être un dread pour être un rasta... T'es pas obligé d'être un black pour être un rasta... C'est pas impératif, c'est facultatif... Ethiopia ! Ethiopia !!

Young Rastas chilling and smoking at the Sud-etoile bar.

The views to lake Kivu from the bar.

The evening was full of chanting and dancing.

Participants having a good time.

Connexion Bar with the next Lion King

After the gathering at the Sud-Etoile was finished, we were told that there was live music later on in the commune of Kadutu. We had a few hours until then, so Raissa proposed joining his friend Almeida for a drink at Connexion- quite a popular spot among locals in town; and so we did. Cool place if you ever in town by the way.

Almeida's crew entering the Connexion bar.

The terrace at Connexion.

Views to lake Kivu.

Rastafari Almeida having a soft drink.

The final gig

Inside the circle of Kadutu.

Raissa exchanging numbers with some of the senior Rastas.

The start of the final event.

While we were at the connexion bar and sitting in Almeida's table at the circle of Kadutu I learned about the political intricacies of the Bukavu's Rastafari movement. Not only were there different views about what the movement as such should be, but also certain levels of internal competition to see who will be the next Lion King once the current representative Inmmortel stepped out. As the evening in Kadutu advanced and the drinks were keep on being poored, and the beats danced, these frictions were more and more evident and one could see the top tiers and senior Rastafarians to move from table to table to talk and argue with each other. All in all, the evening was both some sort of celebration and political gathering. I do not know how the evening finished for it was getting really late, and I was far from home; little I knew will end up spending the whole day out when I agreed to pick up Raissa.

I talked to Raissa this morning, she told me that Almeida has been able to reconciliate the conflicting views within the Rastafari's movement of Bukavu by bringing fresh ideas. As such, he has been elected their new representative.