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A traditional hut of the Ameru people - Meru Museum Introduction In the late 1800s, Kikuyu land was invaded by the Imperial British East Africa Company IBEA. This company ventured deep into the interior, following in the footsteps of Ludwig Krapf who had been as far as Chief Kivoi’s Kamba territory but had not yet gone into Kikuyu land. IBEA rushed in to take territory before the French and the Germans could take everything. The territory that was administered by the IBEA was eventually taken over by the British Government when the IBEA went bankrupt. The British Government built a railway line from the port of Mombasa to Port Florence (Kisumu) in 1900 and declared Kenya a British Colony twenty years later. The railway line opened up the interior of East Africa, and the previously reclusive Kikuyu farming community were finally conquered and subjected to British rule. A way of life was slowly eroded, including a democratic system of government where an entire generation was in power an...

    Portrait of Jomo Kenyatta in 1910, Kenyatta went to the Church of Scotland Mission in search of education Jomo Kenyatta's message in 1963 Jomo Kenyatta was the first president of the independent republic of Kenya. In anticipation of independence day, Kenyatta had this to say in a special issue of the Pan African magazine: "December the 12 th , 1963! This is the happiest, the most wonderful day in my life, the day our beloved Kenya becomes free. It is a day which can come only once in a lifetime—the day when a lifetime’s effort is suddenly fulfilled. For a moment, it is hard to believe that it is true. For this day has been won with such long effort, such sacrifices, such sufferings... Now at last, we are all free, masters in our own land, masters of our destiny...FREE! What shall be my message to readers of PAN AFRICA? First, enjoy yourselves! Be happy! Breathe deeply this sweet, pure air of freedom! This freedom is your’s – your’s for the rest of your lives—to pass on to ...

Luos are known to like fish while Kikuyus are said to love potatoes Introduction  Language is more than communication—it’s a living archive of migration, memory, and meaning. In Kenya, the Kikuyu and Luo communities are often viewed as culturally distinct, with Kikuyu classified as Bantu and Luo as Nilotic. Yet beneath these classifications lies a fascinating web of linguistic overlap that hints at shared ancestry, ancient interactions, and semantic convergence. This article explores the surprising similarities between Dholuo and Kikuyu, from phonetic patterns and root words to cultural expressions embedded in everyday speech. By tracing words like thi, muma and uriri, we uncover echoes of a time when proto-Bantu and proto-Nilotic speakers may have lived side by side—or at least borrowed richly from one another. Whether through shared metaphors, grammatical structures, or semantic fields, these languages reveal a deeper story of Kenya’s linguistic heritage. Let’s dive into the conn...

  Queen Mutemwiya K. R. Lepsius, Mutemwiya, line by Emmanuel Kariuki, CC0 1.0 Akhenaten, Grandchild of Queen Mutemwiya Akhenaten  was the Pharaoh who is credited with starting Monotheism in 18 th  Dynasty Egypt. Here, we shall be more concerned with his grandmother called Queen Mutemwiya (spelled as Mutemwaya by some writers). Before we discuss Mutemwiya, two trees need to mentioned. These are the Sycamore and the Olive. The Sycamore,  Ficus sycamora  is a sacred tree to both the ancient Egyptians and the Kikuyu. It is stated by writers on the Kikuyu that the originator of the tribe was called Gĩkũyũ which translates as “the Big Fig Tree” in Kikuyu language. The Olive,  Olea chrisofila,  was the ‘female’ among sacred trees to both the Kikuyu and the Ancient Egyptians. That said, we shall come back to the significance of these trees shortly. To bring Queen Mutemwiya into perspective, let us look at her more famous relatives. Below is a brief chronology ...