Thursday, July 20, 2006

The church they built in despise Mau Mau in Kenya
(This story appeared in Sunday Standard in Nairobi on July 19,2006)
By John Kamau
When the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Geoffrey Fisher, flew all the way from Europe to commission a single church in central Kenya in May 1955 it was supposed to be part of a political statement against the Mau Mau freedom fighters.
Two years earlier he had presided the coronation of the young Queen Elizabeth II just as the Mau Mau war started to gather momentum in Kenya. With the Church of England at the forefront to confront the Mau Mau freedom fighters Dr Fisher flew to Kenya to lay foundation of a shrine that was to be in memory of those loyalists “in emergency areas” who had died – and were to die – while supporting the colonial government.
As a result the Church of the Martyrs in modern day Muranga town, then Fort Hall, was born. Today it stands as the only attempt done by the colonialists to mock the Mau Mau – an attempt that has been left to fade away in post independent Kenya lest it evokes bitter memories.
The untold story is that the Church almost stalled in the middle and the committee selected to build the shrine started taking any kind of donation to complete it. As a result, and official government documents show, bottles of whisky and brandy, and cigarettes were given to the committee as part of the fundraising effort for a shrine that was to cost an estimated £10,000.
Built at the height of the State of Emergency the notable slow response was because the Kikuyu countryside had been cleared of thousands of able-bodied men who had been wheeled to detention camps.
Indeed, by early 1956, the committee complained about the slow response after raising a paltry £1000 in several months of which £670 had been raised in Britain.
Something had to be done or the project came a cropper.
The problem was so severe that it was discussed at the Church Missionary Society’s (CMS) headquarters in London at a meeting attended by then assistant archbishop of Mombasa in charge of Fort Hall (now Murang’a), Rev Obadiah Kariuki – who once worked as a domestic worker for Rev Harry Cannon Leakey before he was recruited for theological training.
(Leakey is best remembered as the man who started the CMS mission in Kabete and as the father to the Leakey’s of Kenya)
While it was hoped that the church would take 18 months to complete the committee found itself in a quandary. Money was not flowing and a decision was made: “money must be used to make money”, concluded one of the meetings held in July 1956.
A colony wide appeal was also announced and donations started to flow including a donation from Princess Margaret, whose office wrote to say that she did not want press coverage over her contribution.
Outside Fort Hall Club (now Murang’a Country Club), lay a huge pile of empty whisky, sherry, gin and brandy bottles which revelers had donated to sell to Africans in the villages.
But it is a letter from the Fort Hall District Commissioner to well wishers that told the political story of this project: “The church fills a need here in Fort Hall and the surrounding districts and commemorates brave men and women who died in the emergency….do not think we are asking too much and too often. The memory of what this church commemorates stretches into the past, its influence will reach far into the future if you make this possible”.
Interestingly
One of the curious donations was that of 2,500 cigarettes donated by the Kenya Tobaco Company for the church fete and 2,000 cigarettes from east African Tobacco. In a letter dated June 7, 1956 the Kenya Tobacco company asked the church committee to receive the cigarettes “to be delivered by one of our staff next week”
They were to be auctioned, together with other donations at a large fete held on July 6, 1956. So crucial was this auction that for the first time State of Emergency regulations were relaxed in Murang’a District. The DC, J Prinney wrote to the District Officers in Kandara, Kangema, Kiharu and Kigumo Divisions asking them to permit Africans in the reserves to leave. “No passes will be required to travel within the district on this date,” said the secret letter in part.
The committee also sought the services of Anthony Lavers to write a propaganda piece to aid the fundraising. In one of the pieces published in the East African Standard he exalted the virtues of the loyalists and why they deserved such a memorial.
“These chiefs and other government servants knew how Kenya had prospered under the British rule…the majority of loyalists were simple humble men who knew the difference between right and wrong “, he wrote.
“It is a building that should have a special place in the hearts of all Kenya’s people for it commemorates some of the finest citizens of all races this young country has ever produced”, said the piece.
When it opened in October 1958, the Governor Sir Evelyn Baring flew to Murang’a to witness the occasion conducted by the Archbishop of Mombasa, Rev L.J. Beecher. Interestingly the ceremony was attended by a multitude of children and women. Most of the men were still in detention.
But today, the Church is, and for political reasons, deliberately forgotten as the only shrine in the Kenya in honour of Home Guards, a coterie of armed youth wingers recruited to suppress the Mau Mau freedom fighters.
What was to be a national shrine has yet to find any mention in the county’s history since the home guards remain the most vilified group for their work as collaborators.
While the Mau Mau leadership has always fought to have a shrine in honour of the freedom fighters – one forgotten shrine stands still for the loyalists.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

As a freelance writer, I know that writing for newspapers is no mean feat. But to be honest, many of the articles, especially news analysis on politics, do not mainly offer much fresh information until you've read works of such superb writers like John Kamau. In the waning years of the former regime in Kenya, Kamau used to run a column in the nation newspapers opinion pages, while at the same time being the managing editor of the Rights Features' Service. Then in 2003, he went to Standard newspapers where he used to write 'The Histories', a trailblazing brand of journalism that narrated the nation through reseached information that would have ended up being buried in the wastepaper basket of history (with apologies to Lenin) had Kamau not burrowed through history documents in all sorts of archives and libraries. I even onced teased him whether he would want to have them published in book form, which was really food for thought for him and not that I had in mind a publishing plan for them. The good job continues even after Kamau recently moved to the nation media group where he mostly writes for the Sunaay paper. Thumbs up for this writer for his flair for meticulous research and sharp nose for a good 'historical' scoop.
Henry Munene,
Nairobi

Anonymous said...

KIKUYU COUNCIL OF ELDERS
MURANG’A COUNTY
THE GOVERNOR 12TH FEBRUARY 2014
MURANG’A COUNTY
(attn. County Secretary)

Dear Sir,
Re: PUBLIC CEMENTERY PLOT 149- MURANG’A COUNTY COUNCIL
The above-mentioned plot situated between the Anglican Church Cathedral and the CID HQ in Murang’a, is the chronicled site of the graves of the Founders of Murang’a Town, then known as Fort Hall in 1901, Mr. Francis Hall was the first District Commissioner of the Kikuyu frontier stretching from Murang’a to Embu. During that time, the Anglican Church was at Weithaga while Bishop Perlo started the Catholic Church. At the very site, the D, C, Fort Hall in 1916 confirmed to the D.C. Kericho that the two deported Talai Clan members of the Samoei family had died and buried between the Police and the Post Office, hence being the very site. Members of this family had featured in the papers as planning to come to Murang’a and perform prayers for their departed. Talai people are the ones who gave Kenyatta his “belt” when he was going abroad. The significance of this cemetery is enormous and the County should exploit it as a tourist and cultural site. The Kalenjin and Kikuyu share this bond. In 1955, the settlers decided to build a memorial for the Home Guards and the whites who were killed by the Mau Mau . Many donations by the colonizers were made from home and abroad. The Bishop of Canterbury finally opened a church 5 years later despite fledgling funding and token gifts of whisky and cigarettes at the Sports Club; that was 50 years after the cemetery was set aside. When we attained independence, the site was allocated under Murang’a County Council to serve as a memorial of the founder of this town. However, the Church has encroached the plot no. 149 with view to absorbing it into their private school.
We intend to collaborate with County Governments in preserving and decorating this site for progeny and as a tourist attraction site. Other areas as indicated in our map are the triangle outside the C.C.’s office where Kenyatta was given the seat for Kigumo; the area outside the County Chamber where Fort Hall was situated and the spot where the Governor Everlyn Baring trod to open the “ADC” Chambers in 1961. Indeed the County Chamber is a Historical Monument that also needs to be preserved. It has been a meeting place for the County since time immemorial and thus unites the Diaspora and beyond. It is our humble request for your office to advise the ACK Church accordingly in order that the plot has access to the road and a gate installed on the road next to the Police fence for Tourists to access the site without going into the church. The plot has a frontage to the road. We have plans to erect monuments and models on this sites mentioned above for the good of The County.
Yours Sincerely,

Gilbert Mwangi said...

Very informative article here.

Unknown said...

I'd love to see a photo of the church, assuming it is still standing. I searched for historical photos of the church as well, but couldn't find any.