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Governor Sang renews calls for return of Koitalel Arap Samoei’s skull

Sang urged the British government to facilitate the return of the revered leader’s remains

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by FELIX KIPKEMOI

News20 October 2025 - 17:00
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In Summary


  • He added that the repatriation of Koitalel’s remains would be an act of justice and reconciliation, symbolically addressing a painful chapter in Kenya’s colonial history.
  • Sang noted that while the country continues to honour national figures such as the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, it is equally important to recognise the pioneers of Kenya’s early resistance movements.
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Nandi Governor Stephen Sang, accompanied by family members of late Koitalel Samoei, at his mausoleum on October 19,2025/X

Nandi Governor Stephen Sang has renewed calls for the repatriation of the skull of legendary Nandi leader and freedom hero, Orkoiyot Koitalel Arap Samoei.

Sang urged the British government to facilitate the return of the revered leader’s remains, saying it was time to accord him a dignified rest.

“In the last two years or so, we have had discussions with the British High Commission, but we must move beyond conversations that yield no tangible results,” Sang said during a wreath-laying ceremony at Koitalel’s mausoleum in Nandi Hills to mark 120 years since his death.

He added that the repatriation of Koitalel’s remains would be an act of justice and reconciliation, symbolically addressing a painful chapter in Kenya’s colonial history.

Sang noted that while the country continues to honour national figures such as the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, it is equally important to recognise the pioneers of Kenya’s early resistance movements.

Nandi Governor Stephen Sang accompanied lays a wreath at the mausoleum of late Koitalel Samoei in Nandi on October 19,2025/X

“Following Raila Odinga’s burial, there will now be annual celebrations to honour him as the father of the third liberation. But we must not forget the first — the father of the first liberation, Koitalel Arap Samoei. He deserves the same level of recognition, respect, and government support,” he added.

The ceremony brought together local leaders, community members, and dignitaries, including New York State Senator James Sanders Jr. Koitalel Arap Samoei remains a towering figure in Kenya’s anti-colonial struggle.

As the Orkoiyot, the spiritual and political leader of the Nandi, Koitalel led one of the earliest organised resistances against British rule until his assassination on October 19, 1905.

Historical accounts indicate that he was lured to a supposed peace meeting.

British-Kenyan author and historian Elspeth Huxley, who studied Meinertzhagen’s diaries and writings, later described him as a man prone to extreme violence during colonial campaigns in Kenya and elsewhere — observations drawn from her review of historical records and Meinertzhagen’s own notes.

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