The Star ­ Tuesday
Date: 18.02.2014
Page 28,29
Article size: 1240 cm2
ColumnCM: 275.55
AVE: 484977.77
AFRICAN HERITAGE HOUSE
HANGS IN THE BALANCE
BY ZIHAN KASSAM
Hanging by a thread,
Alan Donovan's
African Heritage
House overlooking
Donovan worries that the
current estate, which is tranquil
and works to preserve the park,
will become an extension of the
of jewellery, gourds, spears,
pottery and other artefacts
from across Africa. Many local
and international guests stay
overnight.
is at the mercy of a wrecking
haphazard and polluted new
developments on Mombasa
ball. The most photographed
Road.
house in all of Africa, and
chockfull of rare African
artefacts, the house stands in the
Kenya Railways Corporation
tbe co­founder of the African
way of the new standard gauge
with CRBC to survey the land
was authorised in September
railway line between Mombasa
2013 by Alfred Marheka,
Heritage Pan African Galleries
with Joseph Mu rumbi, Kenya's
first foreign minister and second
vice president. It is said that
together wirh Murumbi and
Nairobi National Park
and Nairobi.
Donovan shares how the news
was broken. "I was sitting in
my pool house with guests who
had just arrived when suddenly
an Administration Police officer
walked in swinging his AK47
and announced that the house
has.to be demolished. I asked
him where he came from but he
It seems that the order for
former Managing Director of
KRC. On February 4, through
the Kenya Alliance of Resident
Associations, the home­owners
affected by Matheka's notice
appealed to the Ministry of
Transport and Infrastructure
and to Dr Mohammed Swazuri,
chairman of the National Land
would not say nor give me his ID Commission, to protect their
card. There were two Chinese
property.
men behind him.They left and
went to my neighbours to repeat
the same message."
After receiving this
information, Donovan suddenly
a Kenya gazette notice, the
fell ill and was taken to Nairobi
Hospital where the doctors
It turns out there is a larger
issue at hand. According to
National Land Commission
recently gave notice to Kenya
Wildlife Service to give up more
than 100 hectares of land in
Donovan began building
the house in 1989 and it was
complete by 1994. Donovan was
his wife Sheila, they secured
the largest private collection of
African artefacts in the region
and perhaps all of Africa.
After Murumbi died in 1990,
Donovan spent many years
trying to protect the Murumbi
collection, of which many
pieces were stolen or lost. After
battling with the government to
save the collection left behind by
the passing of Sheila Murumbi
in 2000, Donovan founded the
Murumbi Trust and only last
year did he manage to secure
the Murumbi African Heritage
Collection, which can be found
discovered a blood clot in
the Taita, Taveta, Kwale and
at the old PC's building, which is
his right leg. Unperturbed,
Makueni counties. Combined
now Nairobi Gallery.
he arranged to meet with the
with land acquired from private
engineers from the China Road
landowners, KRC will acquire
and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), over 5,000 acres in just the first
who have been contracted to
phase of the project. In later
build the railway. In his hospital phases, the railway is forecast to
room, members of CRBC
extend to Uganda, Rwanda and
informed him that the section of
South Sudan.
the railroad outside his property
The paradox of the fate of
had too many curves in the track African Heritage House lies in
to safely operate the new high­
the fact that the house was in
speed train.
the process of being gazetted
"It seems that CRBC has
a legitimate concern," says
Donovan. "They aren't just
as a heritage site in Kenya,
On January 16, Donovan had
followed up with Dr Idle Omar
land­grabbing. They have even
Farah, Director General of the
considered an elevated track
National Museums of Kenya
at some poinrs." But unsettled
by the fact that Rhino­Point
to check on the status of this
might be destroyed and that
neighbours like Shamit Varma,
endeavour.
For those who are completely
in the dark about African
Sally Dun man, Kevin Cronchey, Heritage House, it is an
Robert Humphtey and David
Ndetei, most of whose families
exceptional mud­architecture
construction, a museum where
have occupied the land since the
American­born Alan Donovan
lives. You can take a tour
1950s, would lose their homes,
As for the future of African
Heritage House, after Donovan's
recent visit to the USA, where
he met with former associates
and several universities, some
of the institutions including
the American Museum at
the American University of
Washington showed an interest
in partnering with the African
Heritage House and the
Murumbi Trust.
Donovan is currently looking
at projects that will preserve,
protect and possibly expand
the original Murumbi African
Heritage vision. This could
require the formation of a
new foundation to replace the
Murumbi Trust and accommodate
African Heritage House as a
permanent museum for Kenya
and the world.
But without governmental or
international support, if the train
Ipsos Kenya ­ Acorn House,97 James Gichuru Road ­ Lavington ­ Nairobi ­ Kenya
The Star ­ Tuesday
Date: 18.02.2014
Page 28,29
Article size: 1240 cm2
ColumnCM: 275.55
AVE: 484977.77
track is not rerouted or the house
demolished and his precious
is not relocated, the African
indigenous trees cut down and
Heritage House could be lost
forever. Proving that the world
isn't so fair, that history will
the remainder of his house
repeat itself, and that people can
they were not properly displayed
until the Murumbi Gallery
continue to ignore evident and
inexcusable patterns of behaviour
on behalf of their government,
the Donovan narrative might
just follow in the footsteps of the
Murumbi story.
In 1977, Murumbi enrrusted
his Muthaiga house and his
artefacts, books, documents
contents removed to the present
Kenya National Archives where
really exists, someone will stand
up and fight for him now.
As he verges on the release of
Joseph Murumbi's autobiography
opened in December 2006.
This was 30 years after
Murumbi had sold his collections
to the government. The futility
of his hard work aggravated his
illness. It is said that Murumbi
died of a broken heart.
Despite sobering setbacks and
a lack of support in his arduous
and textiles to the Kenyan
pursuit, Donovan has persevered
government for the purpose of
creating the Murumbi Institute of in protecting the keepsakes of our
African Studies. He left to build
past and keeping the Murumbi
his new home in Maasailand only legacy alive. If there is some
to come back to find his house
'A Path Not Taken', the parallels
in their life stories are uncanny
but hardly coincidental. In their
special quest to show the value of
historical paraphernalia that are
a part of our cultural narrative,
they have met with a society so
callous, so immune to its national
heritage, it cannot hear the
voices of its benefactors. Here
we are huffing and puffing about
something so very important.
Still, the house might be blown
down.
mercy in the world or if karma
CLARIFICATION
The news story titled 'African Heritage House to come down', published
in the Star's Weekend edition, gives tbe impression that the African
Heritage House is going to be torn down, which is not the case. While
it is true that an AP officer said the house was to be demolished, the
route has not been finally approved by the contractor, Chinese Road
and Bridges or the Kenya Railway Corporation. The land on which the
house stands is NOT part of the parcels gazetted by the National Land
Commission on February 7,2014. They have only gazetted the first
phase, more than 160 hectares — including over 100 hectares from
Kenya Wildlife Service as indicated in the story ¦— of land in Taita Taveta.
Kwale and Makueni counties. Nothing in the second phase has been
gazetted. There is still a good probability that the African Heritage House
will stand and the railway will stay on the same route as the old railway
if the route can be adapted to a high speed train, rjr take yet another
route. The story on Saturday was written by a reporter, rather than
Zihan Kassam whose byline was on the story.
Ipsos Kenya ­ Acorn House,97 James Gichuru Road ­ Lavington ­ Nairobi ­ Kenya
The Star ­ Tuesday
Date: 18.02.2014
Page 28,29
Article size: 1240 cm2
ColumnCM: 275.55
AVE: 484977.77
MAGNIFICENT According to the peg put in the ground, the new railway will cut through the corridor of
the historic African Heritage House.
Ipsos Kenya ­ Acorn House,97 James Gichuru Road ­ Lavington ­ Nairobi ­ Kenya
The Star ­ Tuesday
Date: 18.02.2014
Page 28,29
Article size: 1240 cm2
ColumnCM: 275.55
AVE: 484977.77
AT RISK: The African Heritage House (circled] and the current railway line (in red) as captured by Google Maps,
Ipsos Kenya ­ Acorn House,97 James Gichuru Road ­ Lavington ­ Nairobi ­ Kenya
The Star ­ Tuesday
Date: 18.02.2014
Page 28,29
Article size: 1240 cm2
ColumnCM: 275.55
AVE: 484977.77
HERITAGE: Alan Donovan gives Kenyan TV host Nick Wangondu a tour of
the house.
Ipsos Kenya ­ Acorn House,97 James Gichuru Road ­ Lavington ­ Nairobi ­ Kenya