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Cameron Camp Ruins

Eccentric Settlers in Makueni

Peter Cameron Scott: African Inland Mission

Peter Cameron Scott (1867–1896) was a Scottish missionary and the founder of the Africa Inland Mission (AIM), now known as Africa Inland Church (AIC), one of Kenya’s major Protestant denominations. His work in Kenya left a lasting legacy in Christian missions, particularly in Ukambani, Rift valley and Central Kenya. Fondly inspired by David Livingstone, he aimed to engender Christianity to inland Africa, Cameron arrived in Kenya in October, 1895, and founded by Africa Inland Mission. Peter Cameron Scott was born on March 7th, 1867, in Glasgow Scotland of pious evangelical parents and got introduced to the modern gospel at an early age. In 1879, Scott and his family migrated from Scotland and settled in Philadelphia USA, where he enrolled in York Missionary Training College. In November 1890, through the International Missionary Alliance, Scott made his first attempt at missionary work in the West Coast of Africa. An endeavor cut short with death of his brother.

Scott himself was not spared. Repeated attacks of fever made his stay in Congo impossible. Unrelenting and not losing faith, on October 17th, 1895, Scott, his sister Margaret and six others arrived off the East African Coast. On arrival at Mombasa the eight A.I.M missionaries found out that the Coastal region had been occupied by the Church Missionary Society (CMS), the German Lutheran Mission and the Methodist Mission. In little more than a year his idea was to establish a network of base Churches with four initial stations at Kalamba, Sakai, Kilingu and Kangundo. Famously known as Ikulu, the Cameron Camp Ruins at Mtito Andei close to A109 Nairobi-Mombasa Road was a halfway house for AIM missioners. It also used to be a resting place for the former president, Jomo Kenyatta. Scott died at 29 (1896) from malaria and exhaustion in Kibwezi, where his grave remains a historical site.


1900 marked the arrival and influence of various settlers, notably of the British and Indians, attracted by fertile agricultural lands and untapped market for trade. These settlers and individuals, some famous as local eccentrics, left lasting legacies in Kenya’s history, contributing to its cultural, economic, and political development. The legacies of the eccentrics are still much-talked about today.


outlook

Flanked by the A109 Nairobi-Mombasa Road on its eastern flank, Makueni County is part of the Lower Eastern Kenya region. Major towns like Mtito Andei and Emali serve as trade hubs along the A109, the former being the traditional halfway stop and rest. Other towns enroute are; Sultan Hamud and Kibwezi. Home to Akamba people, it is so commonly referred to Ukambani – alongside Kitui and Machakos.

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Climate about Makueni varies based on altitude – with the north being cooler – 20oC to 24oC, while the south, more so during the dryer months, between May and October, experience generous heat.