Mysterious City Market cross covered again

City Market cross

The mysterious cross which was discovered underneath the City Market in Nairobi.

Photo credit: Pool

A mysterious cross that was discovered underneath City Market by workers from the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) was covered again using cement last week. 

A spot check by the Nation on Tuesday found no signs of the cross slab at the market's courtyard. 

The courtyard at City Market, Nairobi, on January 26, 2021.

Photo credit: Steve Otieno | Nation Media Group

Traders at the market said the cross was covered on Wednesday by the same people who made the discovery.

Negative rumours

Ever since the cross was unearthed, Kenyans have exchanged all manner of theories over its origin, with some going as far as saying the cross was demonic. The wild speculations, apparently, have had a negative impact on the traders who eke a living from the market.

“I have received calls from more than ten clients who are asking why some people were buried at the market. Some are saying it is a cultic symbol. However, some are asking if there could be treasure hidden underneath the cross,” Joseph Otieno, a meat seller at the market, told the Nation.

He lamented that inasmuch as the discovery could have some historical significance, business has been affected as many customers now fear going to the market. 

All they want now is for the archeologists to quickly establish the origins of the intriguing cross-shaped concrete and clear confusion surrounding it once and for all. 

city market cross
Photo credit: Steve Otieno | Nation Media Group

Through the Director General of National Museums of Kenya, Dr Mzalendo Kibunjia, the Nation has learnt that a team of archeologists was dispatched to conduct a survey and try uncover the mystery surrounding the crucifix concrete slab.

However, by press time today, the archeologists were yet to arrive at the market. 

Dr Emmanuel Ndiema, the archeologist who assessed the site shortly after its discovery, had said that they were not yet sure whether the cross was an ablution block or had historical meaning.

“What we found is that it is made of solid granite and beneath it, there is another heavy concrete layer reinforced with heavy metal,” he said. 

He also said that they would use ground penetration radar or portable scans to check the site. 

This discovery piqued the curiosity of archeologists and architectural historians owing to the uniqueness of the market, whose reinforced-concrete arches have been studied over years by students.

City Market was built in the 1930s as a European-only market. Its unique architecture resembles London’s Royal Horticultural Lawrence Hall which won awards for its use of reinforced concrete.