A SHRINE to be used by the Kikuyu Council of Elders has been inaugurated.
The government launched the holy ground in Matibei Forest, Lari constituency, in Kiambu county, on Friday.
Lari deputy county commissioner Bernard Kinyua said the elders identified the five-acre piece of land with the sacred mugumo tree. The elders then wrote to his office and the Kenya Forest Service requesting to be allowed to hold prayers under the tree.
Kinyua addressed the council at a prayer meeting on the day of the launch.
He said government considered the elders’ request since they plan to construct a Kikuyu cultural resource centre at the site.
“We consulted for long. Researchers can use holy grounds to learn about the environment and Kikuyu culture. We need to co-exist by learning,” Kinyua said.
The commissioner handed over a confirmation certificate to council chairman Njoroge Mairu and his secretariat under the mugumo tree.
Mairu said the shrine will help men educate their sons on moral values since many youth are grappling with drug abuse and alcoholism.
“Our young men are in prison because they lack proper guidance,” said Mairu.
