Shock as thieves break into Njuri Ncheke shrine in Tharaka Nithi
Njuri Ncheke elders from Karama, Tigania East conduct a ritual to invoke a curse on people behind burning of schools on July 21, 2018. PHOTO | DAVID MUCHUI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
Thieves broke into the Mitheru Tourism and Cultural Centre, located next to the infamous Nithi bridge in Tharaka Nithi County and stole several Ameru cultural artefacts.
The unknown criminals also vandalised the facility, which is owned by the Tharaka Nithi County government but is run by the Ameru Njuri Ncheke Council of Elders, and stole eight doors.
Condemning the incident on Wednesday, Njuri Ncheke elders, led by the Muthambi sub-county chapter chairman Japhet Njagi, said they had lost several items including clothes, musical instruments, weapons and cooking utensils used in ancient times.
He said that though they learned about the theft yesterday, it could have happened several days earlier because the centre does not have a caretaker.
“The houses have been vandalised and very many cultural artefacts, including bows, arrows, spears, shields, baskets, shoes, and pottery, stolen by unknown criminals,” Mr Njagi said.
The centre had day and night watchmen but they quit after the county government stopped paying them, said its chairman Marangu Mugo.
The centre was built by Tharaka Nithi pioneer governor, Samuel Ragwa, and fenced by the incumbent Muthomi Njuki, but the artefacts belong to the Njuri Ncheke.
The angry elders have ordered the criminals to return the items, including the doors, and apologise or they would be cursed and face unspecified consequences.
Mr Mugo said the criminals destroyed some of the artefacts, scattering the pieces in the open rooms and outside.
He urged Governor Njuki to pay the guards so that they can resume work.
Many people, including school children from the region, toured the facility to view the artefacts and learn about their culture, said Nyaga Maiti, an elder and retired principal chief.
He said children were able to see some of the artefacts that they learn about in school.
“Destroying this facility amounts to killing our culture, because we do not have another place where one can see and learn about our culture in the entire Maara constituency,” Mr Maiti said.
The centre was originally meant as a stopover for local and international tourists entering the Mt Kenya forest through the Chogoria gate to climb the mountain.
