One of the dilapidated ‘Kenyatta Houses’ in Lokitaung, Lodwar, where the
Kapenguria Six were detained between 1959 and 1961. PHOTOS | FRED
OLUOCH | NATION
Justus Eding, the curator of the colonial detention centres in
Lodwar, 677km northwest of Nairobi, is both a proud and frustrated man.
He
is proud of being a part of history as the keeper of the houses where
Kenya’s most famous fighters for freedom were kept under house arrest
from 1959 to 1961. They had earlier served seven-year jail terms in
Lokitaung from 1953.
But Mr Eding is frustrated too
that the now dilapidated houses where the “Kapenguria Six” were jailed
are not given the attention they deserves by the local community and
administration despite being an important part of Kenya’s struggle for
Independence.
This is because while much has been
written about the Kapenguria Six, very few Kenyans know or care about
the houses that acted as their prisons,
which are now considered national monuments.
Heroes’ Day
Yet Kenyans celebrate Heroes’ Day on October 20, in remembrance
of the Six— Jomo Kenyatta, Kungu Karumba, Fred Kubai, Paul Ngei, Bildad
Kaggia and Ramogi Achieng Oneko — for their sacrifice and contribution
to the country’s fight for Independence.
However, for
the first time in Kenya’s history, the colonial detention centres in
Lodwar — commonly known as the Kenyatta Houses — and in Kapenguria, that
were used to detain the Kapenguria Six, received $1.2 million from the
central government for renovation, maintenance and promotion of the
sites.
The money will be channelled through the
National Museums of Kenya (NMK). Other houses in Maralal and Lokitaung —
all in northwestern Kenya — are also going to benefit from the funds.
The
houses in Kapenguria, Lodwar, Lokitaung and Maralal were used to detain
freedom fighters during the war against the Mau Mau under the state of
Emergency declared in 1952.
The EastAfrican
recently visited the colonial detention centres in Lodwar in Turkana
County, and Kapenguria West in Pokot County on a fact-finding tour.
Also
on the same mission were five members of the NMK board led by the
director of sites and monuments, Dr Purity Kiura, to see the state of
the dilapidated houses where Kenyatta, Kagia, Kubai, Ngei and Karumba
were kept under house arrest from 1959 to 1960.
In
Lodwar, Kenyatta’s one bedroomed house is in good condition after being
renovated by NMK in 2008 and in 2015 by the Turkana County government
ahead of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s visit. What used to be the bedroom
is currently used by Mr Eding as a site office.
The
rest of the four houses belonging to Kagia, Kubai, Ngei and Karumba are
in a state of total disrepair, with cracked walls and woven mats in
place of the once wooden window shutters.
The political
detainees were not supposed to go out beyond a 7km radius, but local
people were free to visit them and bring them food. They also had to
report to the district commissioner daily.
Dr Kiura told The EastAfrican
that a lack of funds made it impossible for NMK to maintain the
historic houses. However with the $1.2 million allocated by the
government, the Museums will soon embark on major renovations and a
campaign to attract both local and international tourists.
She said the Museums is planning to introduce more exhibitions on the Kapenguria Six once the renovations are complete.
Setback
The
other challenge is that the Turkana county government has “invaded” the
site without the permission of NMK and is building a music studio and a
library in the compound.
“We are not worried about the
County government using the compound for cultural and educational
purposes, but the problem is that they did not consult us and their
design is not compatible with the houses where the leaders were
detained,” said Dr Kiura, who added that NMK is seeking to secure the
site by acquiring a title deed.
But Mr Eding is more
concerned that local people are not interested in visiting the houses
and learning of their significance to the country’s political history.
He hopes that part of the funds will be used to launch a major campaign
to create awareness and the message that the site belongs to the people.
Prof
Ephraim Wahome, Dean of the Faculty of Arts at the University of
Nairobi, who is also a board member of NMK, says the community must get
involved by saying what they want to see displayed in the houses, adding
that they should also be provided with space to display their
traditional handicraft for sale.
“We can only succeed
if the local people understand that the site is important to the country
and that it belongs to them,” said Dr Wahome.
For
instance, Peter Ejore, a 20-year old boda boda rider, says that his
community just knows the place as the Kenyatta House and nothing more.
He went out of his way to find out more about the place and was dismayed
by the state of neglect compared with its historical significance.
Kapenguria cells
However,
the situation is different in Kapenguria, 33km north of Kitale town,
where the six were held from October 1952 to July 1953. The six cells
where the prisoners were held — now known as the Heroes Cells — are neat
from outside with the walls painted in black and white.
On the doors, painted green, are the engraved names of the occupants.
The
cells, measuring six by six feet, built in 1950, still have the metal
buckets the prisoners used for their ablution. There are also framed
copies of the profiles of each of the prisoners, with their pictures,
biography and their alleged crimes.
Located on a hill
2km from Makutano, off the Lodwar-Kitale Road, the six cells are fairly
presentable except for some few cracks on the walls and the roof. The
cracks are mainly visible in the first room that was being used for
interrogation, which is more spacious than the cells.
Unlike
Lodwar, the Kapenguria cells attract over 1,000 visits per month,
mainly from central Kenya, and thousands of students from the Western
region.
According to Justus Kikuvi, the curator of the
Kapenguria Museum, the West Pokot County attempted to take over the site
in line with the devolved government structure but later abandoned the
idea when they realised that it does not generate any meaningful
revenue.
Kikuvi said that the site earns between $120
and $220 per month from gate charges depending on the school calendar,
although it receives only $400 per month from NMK headquarters for
maintenance.
“The
exhibitions in the cells are just a bare minimum and do not tell the
real story about the importance of the trial to the history of Kenya.
The place will be more attractive with more material of the trial of the
Kapenguria Six and how they progressed from the trial till their
deaths,” said Mr Kikuvi.
However, displays in the
museum include books and documents in a memorial library in honour of
all heroes who participated in the struggle for Independence.
There
are also two other buildings hosting ethnographic galleries exhibiting
cultural artefacts of the communities from the region such as the Pokot
and Cherengani. There is also a simulated Pokot homestead that forms the
bedrock of the Kapenguria Museum, opened in 1993.
No comments :
Post a Comment