Wonders of a silent land

There is a common saying in my language that translates to “whoever does not leave his/her home always says that their mother cooks the best”. True you must concur with me, well I have had Eldoret as my home for quite some time and I have loved it. 

It is a place where you will wake up and sigh at the expansive pieces of land which are quite beautiful especially when covered by green wheat or maize. The Eldoret South is in context here. Some hills are notable from a distance and I once heard from a friend that when wind blows towards them (Nandi hills), expect no rain and this statement put me into task to find out. Whether the assertion is true, the residents know better.

To give me a chance to taste what other ‘pots’ brew and avoid being a victim of the saying above, I love  going places and courtesy of likeminded persons, I have visited a few places one of them being Kitale. One thing that I am cautious to look at is the nature of homesteads that people in different parts of the country put up. I don’t compare, just to appreciate diversity. And from the observation over time, I have noticed that it’s very likely to find a person living in a mud house or a grass thatched house yet own a very powerful car. Well, my lecturer in first year taught us about culture shock and as a result I could manage this one. Enough of that for now.

Kitale is a land well known for growing maize, a bit of similarity with Eldoret. But there are other sites which I doubt whether are much visited by locals/Kenyans, The Kapenguria Museum being one of them. From the knowledge of history that I have, I know Kapenguria is an administrative town and was more vibrant during the colonial era. Located near Makutano  town, it has no much activity as makutano serves as the commercial town. 

Kapenguria museum tells the history of the well known fighters for the Kenyan independence and what characterizes the small piece of land that houses the museum are the cells in which the freedom fighters were locked in, six in number for each one of them (the Kapenguria six). The cells are quite small but enough to allow one to sit at whichever corner but could only allow them to lie down/ sleep lengthwise; the room width is just too small.

There is also a gallery that being in Pokot land, holds artifacts that were used and some of them are still being used by the locals. A typical setting of a Pokot homestead (Agricultural Pokot homestead) is also at home here; four huts; one for the Man of the home, one for the first wife, one for the second wife, one for the boys’ and oops! I didn’t find out where the girls slept. Will found out the next time I visit, I hope to.

There is more to learn in this museum that if put down here would amount to a history class which I’m less interested in. Another part of this wonderful land is a setting that gives you a type of treat you would call ‘three in one’. The Kitale Nature Conservancy (KNC) is a home for disabled or if I could use another word physically challenged animals. I had not heard of such before I visited this place but I must appreciate whoever came up with the idea. 


Here you will find cows, sheep, donkeys, goats and the like walking in three legs; some of them can’t walk at all so they feed from the ground; shorter forelegs than the hind legs or the vice versa; deformed mouth or eye. It’s like an orphanage for such. The deformities are quite a number and though they are not people, I couldn’t help sympathizing with the animals. Would you eat meat you know is from a deformed animal?

Deformed calf

The second part of the ‘three in one’ is the beautifully laid down ground where you can have a walk or picnic admiring the artificially set up tourist attraction site. With winding paths through overhead hanging vegetation the site is an example of brains put into use. On one side are mounded sculptures that altogether tell biblical stories from both the New and the Old Testament. 

Stories with a mountainous setting are put up as so, as well as those told from plains and rivers. There is this sculpture of the transfiguration that caught my attention; three disciples shocked and the transfigured Christ somewhere higher above them, of course with Moses and Elijah at his sides…

And finally, the tourists to this place got a stomach. It’s not common to tour and not to eat and the restaurant here is strategically located such that you ought to think of food whenever you are entering or leaving. Having noted it during our entry, we had decided we would too have a share of the nyamchom they offer. Several other people were also treating themselves to the same.

And oh! If it were not for darkness setting in, there was more to enjoy from this area!