A palace nobody lived in
The building was put up in 1957 as the new palace for King Mutara III Rudahigwa. He died before it was inaugurated, and it was never used as a royal residence. Through the First and Second Republics it served as offices for various judicial institutions — which is a fair summary of what happened to the monarchy itself.
In 2006 it was converted into an art museum with a permanent fine art exhibition. In 2018 the Institute of National Museums moved that collection to the former presidential residence at Kanombe in Kigali, and Rwesero was repurposed. Rehabilitation and the new exhibition began in 2019, and the building reopened as the Kwigira Museum.
What is inside now
The permanent exhibition is built around Rwanda's home-grown initiatives — the locally designed policy instruments the country used to rebuild after 1994, from community justice through to the mutual health and performance-contract systems. It is told through images and documentation threading historical and current programmes together.
It is an unusual museum for a visitor to encounter, and a useful one. Almost everything else on a Rwanda itinerary explains what happened to the country; this explains what the country then did about it.
The setting
Rwesero sits on a hill with a wide view over the surrounding landscape, which is half the reason to make the climb. It is one of the anchor points on the Royal Trail and a stop on the Nyanza city tour.
Where it fits
An hour to two hours. Most half-day itineraries in Nyanza ask you to choose between this and the King's Palace. If you have already seen a lot of monarchy on this trip, choose Kwigira.