About Muranga Way Back When

Brief History of Muranga County

Originally known as Mbiri and later as Fort Hall, the place we now call Muranga County is the nexus of Kikuyuland that became an epicenter of sundry reforms in the colonial era. Legend has it that the Kikuyu progenitors, Gikuyu and Mumbi, were placed at Mukurwe wa Nyagathanga by the creator, Ngai, and from there, their nine (or ten) daughters, bestowing their lineage on their progeny, bore the Kikuyu clans. Ngai, or Mugai, the divider, gave them dominion over Kikuyuland, a vast area bound by the four landmarks of Mount Kenya (Kirinyaga), Ngong Hills (Kiri Mbiruiru), the Aberdares (Nyandarua), and Ol Donyo Sabuk Hill (Kia Njahi).

Historians and ethnographers explain it differently. They agree that the peopling of Muranga County begun circa 1600, when the Agikuyu arrived and settled around the dense forests in the west, displacing the unassertive hunter-gatherer Gumba tribe. The timid Gumba, initially forced to retreat deeper into the forest when the newcomers started to clear land for farms, were eventually assimilated. There were likely no Dorobo in the district. Land acquisition was influenced by the ridge and valley topography of the area, the first area cleared being the fertile, bristled with wild fruits, favourable belt in the middle-zone between 5,000-6,000 feet.

The process of clearing the forest was laborious and slow. For instance, it’s safe to say that Metumi, the part of Muranga County north of Maragwa River, was not fully occupied by 1750, and that Kariua, the region of Muranga County between Maragwa and Chania Rivers was only partially occupied by 1900. Over time, the patriarchal system of governing from the basic family (nyumba) to the extended family (mbari), and close clans (mihiriga) to community (itura) gained roots. As the population thrived, so did farming and trade with the Akamba and the Maasai. In principle, land was owned by mbari (clan) and its administration was entrusted to a muramati (guardian or custodian) who was the nominal leader of the mbari.

The imposition of colonial rule in Muranga County got underway around 1900, preceded by the activities of adventurers like John Bayes. In June of 1898, John Bayes, nicknamed Karianjahi, called in on Tuthu on the off-chance of trading in food for Kabete, the chief source of food for caravans and the railway party that had been hit hard by a famine. Bayes found a strong ally in the person of Karuri wa Gakure in consequence supplying Naivasha with provisions, and later started dealing with ivory. Karuri – born and raised in Kigumo area of Muranga – earned his living by selling red ochre and playing the role of medicine-man in Kiambu.

Karuri had also begun organizing armed trading caravans with his close age-mates, conveying yams and red ochre to Kabete, Kikuyu and Naivasha, in exchanged for coastal items like cloth, trinkets, and sea-shells which they sold to the people at huge profits. During these trading expeditions, Karuri had come across Kinyanjui wa Gathirimu, who had already made friendship with the white man. Karuri aspired to make friendship with a white man, too. He paid several visits to Francis Hall and J. Ainsworth and by 1898 had visited Machakos and Fort Smith. Karuri’s wish to have a white man at his home was met when in one of his caravan trips to Kabete he met Karianjahi with whom they begun trading.

Emboldened, Karianjahi and Karuri started interfering in local affairs, with Karuri nudging Karianjahi to hammer at his enemies, or those objected to their wisdom. Karianjahi used a uniformed private army of Swahili and Kabete askari, and flew the Union Jack during all his expeditions. He called himself the “King of Wakikuyu.” He was arrested by Hall on November 19, 1900. After Karianjahi left, Karuri was appointed a chief by Hall, and soon promoted as the first Paramount chief of the Northern Kikuyu Land Unit in 1912. He retained the title until his death in 1916.

The work of establishing colonial rule in Murang’a District was carried out by Francis Hall. In August of 1900, Hall left Machakos with some 40 armed porters and a company of East African Rifles to ground in a station in Murang’a District. A quarter of a mile from the Mathioya River and 300 feet above it, on one of the wooded summits of Mbiri, a name given to three adjoining hills near Muranga town, he commenced to build a fort, later christened Fort Hall. Hall soon begun pacifying the inhabitants, but received resistance and hard opposition in many of the areas notably in the villages of Ngararia, Ruchu, Gatanga, Kariara and Muruka.

In retaliation the natives attacked trade caravans. Each attack on trading caravans or colonial interest was met with stern retribution. In one incidence, a strong expedition of 5 British Officers, 115 askari, and 300 Maasai levies, plus several Kikuyu sympathizers, ran riot and wrecked havoc. Yet, despite the imposition of colonial policies bringing much disruption to the old socio-political systems, the avant-garde agricultural enterprise of Muranga, gaining from the introduction of modern farming techniques and crops like tea, was welcome. Still, the reaction to the adverse colonial land policies grew strands of consent and dissent, and many of the locals offered resistance in one way or another between 1920 and 1952.

At the high-point of the struggle for independence, political conflicts taking class, these ideological dissociation continued, with the loyalists, or those who had benefited from the capitalist system, emerging still as winners. The lucky few had already been mingled into a socio economic and political class. Ambushing expeditions of European explorers, missionaries and Arab traders alike, became more daring and notorious. Word spread fast, and outsiders venturing into this country were wise enough to avoid its routes, along which natives dug war-pits.

The native also had one key advantage; the railway was extended towards Mount Kenya, making the area unfavourable to settlers. Access to Fort Hall by Europeans was almost exclusively aided by an army of porters and, in far fewer cases, visits by prominent personalities like Sir Winston Churchill, who reportedly travelled as far as present-day Mathioya in circa 1907, and former US President Ted Roosevelt. Still, the Europeans considered Fort Hall to be, quoting Australian ethnographer and author William S. Routledge, “the first Station in the province of Kenya”, a term that was used to describe the area immediately surrounding Mount Kenya.

Although the real struggle for independence began in central Kenya in the early 1950s, armed opposition to white rule by the people of Mbiri was on and off from as early as 1902. Murang’a played a pivotal role in the Mau Mau Uprising (1952-1960), a major rebellion against British colonial rule. The Mau Mau fighters, largely composed of Kikuyu people, took to the forests of the Aberdare Range and Mount Kenya, launching guerrilla attacks against colonial forces and settlers. Murang’a was one of the hotbeds of Mau Mau wars, producing key leaders of the rebellion.

The British colonial officers responded with brutal counter-insurgency measures, including mass arrests, detentions, and the establishment of concentration camps, where suspected Mau Mau loyalists were tortured. Despite the heavy repression, the Mau Mau rebellion significantly contributed to the eventual decolonization of Kenya. At the last, Kenya gained independence in 1963, and Murang’a remained an important region in the newly formed nation. In time, many political leaders from Murang’a became key in shaping the direction of post-independence Kenya.

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Murang’a County is a rich agricultural and cultural hub, known for its historical significance, beautiful landscapes, and important role in Kenya’s tea and coffee industries. The scenic hillscapes and cultural heritage makes Murang’a County a fascinating destination for visitors interested in nature, history, and agriculture.

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About Muranga Way Back When

40 Destinations in Muranga County, arranged as one would visit these - south, north, west then east - with aid of narratives, images, strip maps and distance chart:

Gatura Greens Purple Tea Farm Tours, Kimakia Tea Cottage, Kimakia Falls, Kanunga Falls, Ndakaini Dam, Ndakaini Dam Marathon, Muchiri's Resort, Aberdare Forest, Elephant Hill, Aberdare Bongo Ecolodge, Ranges View Lodge, Manguyo Falls, Mathioya River, Kenya Fly Fishers (Southern Camp), Aberdare Cottages and Fishing Lodge, Mathioya River Lodge, Karuri Gakure Grave Site, Tuthu Catholic Church, Mukurwe Wa Gathanga, Karia Ka Mbari Ya Ngware, Wangu Wa Makeri Shrine, C70 Gacharage-Kangema Road, Maragua Dam, Maragua Falls, Old A2 Route, Muranga town, Kakuzi Boran Barn, Makuyu Golf Club, Makuyu Ridge, Eco Farmhouse, Muranga Gorges, Mathioya Dam, Muranga (St. James & All Martyrs) Church, Stanley’s Haven, Sagana Getaway Retreat, Tetura Sagana Camp, Laibon Gardens & Campsite, Jangwani Camp

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