Concerns have been raised over the apparent vandalism of the property at the Mukurwe Wa Nyagathanga traditional shrine following years of abandonment.

Mukurwe Wa Nyagathanga is a shrine that is held in high regard by the Kikuyu community as it is believed to be the origin of their forefathers.

This is the place where the elders used to perform their sacrifices, prayers and rituals for the community and to date, it remains a sacred place.

The shrine used to be a beehive of activities with elders from the region holding prayers and other cultural rituals here. However, today things are different.

The place looks deserted, and its structures are getting dilapidated. From the main entrance all the way to the inside of the shrine, the compound looks unkempt, and the structures are covered in moss.

At the centre of the shrine, there stand the two huts which are believed to have been used by Gikuyu and Mumbi, who are the parents of the community.

Their thatched roofs are almost collapsing. Besides them, a big Mukuruwe tree that stands nearby, where the sacrifices used to be offered, gives life to the deserted shrine.

A few steps away, there lies an abandoned multimillion-shilling building which was established in the 80s.

The building is said to have been a government project which was supposed to hold a hotel, a museum and a theatre, but its construction was halted after the elders claimed that it would make the place unclean.

Its abandonment paved the way for the locals to vandalise the roofing sheets, doors and window grills.

Mary Wanjiku, one of the residents living in the neighbourhood, says that from her childhood, she used to see a lot of visitors come to this shrine, mostly to pray and offer sacrifices.

“The shrine was held in high regard, and it was highly guarded; not everybody would be allowed in,” she said.

“At the end of every year, there used to be a festival to usher in the New Year, and the events were very colourful,” she added.

Wanjiku said today, it can take a year or longer before any activity is held here.

She said every time there was an occasion where the locals would bring out their farm produce and sell to the visitors, and this would give them some money to sustain them for some time.

“The more the events, the better the tidings for us because we knew we would get something,” she added.

“If the shrine is revived, it would help boost the economy of this area and our livelihood can change. The residents here largely rely on farming traditional foods such as arrowroots and yams after they abandoned coffee.”

Peter Kamau, another resident, said this centre would have helped in the preservation of the cultural practices in the community.

He, however, says that future generations might not have somewhere to learn if no action is taken to preserve the centre.

“Students used to come here to learn about the origin of the Kikuyu community and their practices, but that is long gone,” he said.

Kamau said the centre was very popular, even foreigners used to come here to pray and others to learn about it.

There have been several attempts to renovate the shrine to give it a better look, but every time, the proposals are met with resistance from the elders.

The county government of Murang’a has put up the Shrine as one of the opportunities for investment, one that can help promote local and international tourists and help boost the economic growth in the area.

Once again, the elders are opposing the proposal, saying they were not consulted when the county was making such a decision.

Led by the chairman, Kiama Kia Ma Mwangi Njuguna, said they won’t give up their shrine, which they use for worship and offering sacrifices to any investor.

Instead, Njuguna said the county should make this strictly a cultural learning centre and museum for keeping the traditional artefacts.

“There was no public participation on the matter, and as the elders were not consulted, we came to learn about the proposal through the media,” said Njuguna.

“We don’t want any development that will defile this shrine because it’s a holy place and it should be protected,” he added.

The county executive committee member for culture and tourism, Manoah Gachucha, however, says there is no intent to defile the shrine but the idea is to have it rehabilitated and upgraded to give it a new look.

He said that this being the only shrine that is associated with the Kikuyu community can serve as an international tourist attraction, and this would help generate revenue for the country.

He said the proposal is to invite the investors who can help set up a cultural centre that will also serve as a learning centre even for future generations.

“Just like we have the Muslims going to Mecca and Christians going to Israel, we want the same for the shrine.”

He said that currently, the shrine looks abandoned, there is no maintenance, and some of the structures are almost collapsing.

Gachucha said the county government will link up the investors with the elders for the two parties to agree on how the shrine can be renovated and make it more beneficial.

“There will be no development that will be undertaken until the elders who are the custodians of the shrine agree with the developer,” he assured.