President Paul Kagame honors Sauti Sol with gorilla naming ceremony
Kenya’s top boyband Sauti Sol has been offered the honor of naming an entire gorilla family in Rwanda.
The four singers namely Bien Aime Baraza, Willis Chimano, Polycarp Otieno, and Savara Mudigi- were dressed in traditional Rwandese ensembles during their trip to the East African nation.
They were included among the special guests at the 18th Kwita Inzina Ceremony held on Friday, September 2, 2022.
“What an amazing day and evening spent courtesy of the @rdb_rw and @visitrwanda. We had the great honour of being the first ever to name a whole gorilla family during the 18th Kwita Inzina ceremony.”
Among other distingiuished guests were soccer legends Didier Drogba, Gilberto Silva and Juan Pablo Sorin- all who Sauti Sol said were their idols.
During their trip, they were also invited to spend time with Rwanda President Paul Kagame where they took a walk together on the Kigali car free day that happens twice a month.
Watch the walk here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CiFWdyxDh5V/
“If home is where the heart is, then Rwanda will always be our second home. ❤🇷🇼 Our sincere gratitude to H. E @paulkagame, First Lady @jeannette_kagame and @visitrwanda_now for inviting us as namers of the new Gorilla family for the 18th edition of @kwita.izina. To the people of Rwanda, we love you all. ❤❤❤❤ THANK YOU for always going out of your way to ensure that we feel the love and hospitality. See you next time!” wrote Sauti Sol on Tuesday, September 6, 2022.
Rwanda is the African country with the highest number of gorillas. They are mostly located on the Virunga Mountains that span its border with Uganda, making Uganda the second African country with highest number of gorillas.
According to data, there are over 1000 gorillas in Rwanda and approximately 500 on the Ugandan side.
The Kwita Izina gorilla naming ceremony where families name their children in the presence of family of friends. According to the ceremony’s official website, in 2005, Rwanda began naming mountain gorillas as well in what became, “a global celebration of nature.”
The ceremony was also said to be an opportunity to thank all the communities that live around Volcanoes National Park and other partners dedicated to protecting the gorillas. So far, 354 gorillas have been named through this ceremony.
Sauti Sol were the only Kenyans given the chance among other global participants who included their aforementioned idols.
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