Livingstone -Stanley Monument

This place just south of the capital marks a location where explorer and missionary Dr David Livingstone and journalist and explorer Henry Morton Stanley visited and spent two nights on 25–27 November 1871 in Burundi. It is 12 km south of the largest city and former capital Bujumbura, overlooking Lake Tanganyika. In French, it is referred to as La Pierre de Livingstone et Stanley. Some Burundians claim the location is where the famous first meeting of Livingstone and Stanley took place, at which the latter uttered the famous words “Dr Livingstone, I presume?” That meeting actually took place in Ujiji in Tanzania on 10 November 1871 as detailed in Stanley’s book, “How I Found Livingstone”. David Livingstone’s journal also confirms Ujiji as the location, with an entry the day before the meeting reading “At dawn, off and go to Ujiji”, a town he knew well. Livingstone then details meetings with several Arab residents of Ujiji including one who was supposed to be keeping his goods from his previous visit, before recording Stanley’s arrival. The visit to Mugere seems to be between 25th-27th November and the 25th is scratched on the rock. They rested in Ujiji for 6 days and then canoed to here and the village chief gave them a hut to rest for two days where Livingstone’s servant Susi got drunk. They were the first Europeans to visit the area, and in time this has been confused with the first meeting between the two of them.