Kigali remainder of the colonial era, as much of the administration took place in Ruanda-Urundi's capital Usumbura, now known as Bujumbura in Burundi. Usumbura's population exceeded 50,000 during the 1950s, and was the colony's only European-style city, while Kigali's population remained at around 6,000 until independence in 1962. Kigali become the capital upon Rwandan independence in 1962. The traditional capital was the seat of the "mwami" (Kings Yuhi V, Mutara III and Kigeli IV) in Nyanza, while the colonial seat of power was in Butare, then known as Astrida. Butare was initially the leading contender to be the capital of the
Bank of Kigali shareholders' approved plans to cross-list the stock of the bank on the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE), the largest in the East African Community. The cross-listing and the planned rights issue, both planned during the second half of 2018, are expected to raise US$70 million, to be deployed on the acquisition of new, improved ICT systems ($20 million), with the rest deployed in loans to support infrastructure projects at home. In October 2018, the EastAfrican, a regional English language newspaper reported that the stock of Bank of Kigali was expected to list on the Nairobi stock exchange on 30 November 2018.