Thika's Mugo wa Kibiru site gets facelift to restore heritage

Thika’s famous Mugo wa Kibiru historical site on the verge of being grabbed is set to be rehabilitated by Kiambu county government to restore its heritage.

The county led by Governor Kimani Wamatangi and the National Museums of Kenya have started mapping out cultural and heritage sites for rehabilitation.

“The County Government of Kiambu in collaboration with the National Museums of Kenya is in the process of turning the grounds which is over 0.4 hectares, into a heritage site through gazettement through the department of education, gender, culture and social services. This will be followed by fencing of the site and construction of an ablution block for users,” county government director culture Kennedy Mwangi said.

Mwangi said grabbers constantly prey on the land, adding that the county government will create awareness among community members on the importance of preserving and protecting the cultural and heritage sites.

Mugo wa Kibiru historical site is held dear because it was where a giant fig tree popularly known as Mugumo tree by the Kikuyu community,  stood.

Its history dates back to the colonial days  when a popular seer known as Mugo wa Kibiru and also known as Chege wa Kibiru, foretold saying the day the fig tree would fall, it would symbolise the end of British rule in Kenya.

The prophecy came to pass as the tree was struck by lightning and split into two, the first half fell in 1963 the day Kenya gained its independence.

The former President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta in November 1969, knowing the impact of the tree in preserving the Kikuyu culture, visited the garden and planted another fig tree which still stands to date.

The only sign left as evidence of Mugo wa Kibiru fig tree along Mugo – Kibiru road in Thika section 9, is a 15-foot metal bar reinforcement, that was put up round the tree in an attempt to prevent it from falling. It was one of the biggest fig trees in the country and had a lot of historical value.

The county government has since elevated Mugo Kibiru road from murram to tarmac.

The garden which was at the heart of the colonial town, was and still remains to be a place of worship by the Kikuyu community though very little is left of what it originally was, thus hardly receives any visitors.

The sites in Kiambu county include the Church of the Torch, Mensa, Watson Scott Memorial, Ngecha Art Centre, Paradise Lost Sanctuary and Mau Mau caves.

Others are Banana Hill Art Gallery, Ondiri Swamp, Fort Smith, Old Italian Church, Italian Prisoners of War pillars, Mugumo Gardens, Manguo Swamp, Mwanya wa Ruhuho, Aramati Thingira centre and Ngegu cow horns community programme.

Mwangi however said the county's department of culture is planning to hold a cultural event within the year where Kenyans will and embrace the rich history Kiambu has to offer.