Kenyan History Team 
In the mist-draped highlands of Kenya’s Rift Valley, where escarpments break the clouds and the wind carries ancestral memory, one name still travels in whispers — Koitalel arap Samoei. Born around 1860 among the Nandi, Koitalel was more than a warrior. He was the Orkoiyot — a sacred leader who merged prophecy with strategy, faith … Read more
Early Life Among the Giriama People Mekatilili wa Menza (born Mnyazi wa Menza) was born in the 1860s (some sources say 1840s) in Mutsara wa Tsatsu village, in present-day Kilifi County of coastal Kenya. She was the only daughter in a family of five children, with four brothers. Her name “Mekatilili” reflects Giriama naming customs—it … Read more
The Kamba (Akamba) of eastern Kenya have long maintained a rich system of traditional taboos governing marriage, birth, food, gender roles, death, and spirituality. These taboos are rooted in a worldview where the sacred and everyday life interpenetrate. In Kamba cosmology, a sky‐god (Mulungu or Ngai) and a pantheon of ancestral spirits (aimu or maimu) … Read more
Jaramogi Ajuma Oginga Odinga (1911–1994) was Kenya’s first Vice President and its most enduring symbol of opposition politics. His life mirrors the birth of the Kenyan nation itself—an arc that stretched from colonial subjugation to independence, from national unity to the bitter politics of betrayal. To his admirers, Oginga was a man ahead of his … Read more
Early Life and Education Dedan Kimathi Waciuri was born in October 1920 in Thenge (sometimes spelled Kanyinya) village of Tetu, Nyeri District in central Kenya. Raised in a peasant Kikuyu family under colonial rule, young Kimathi grew up witnessing the profound inequalities imposed by British settler domination – from African land dispossession to harsh labor … Read more
Raila Amolo Odinga (born 1945) stands as one of Kenya’s most consequential and enduring politicians. Over a career spanning four decades, Odinga has been at the center of Kenya’s struggle for democracy, constitutional reform, and opposition politics. He is often called “Baba” (father) by his supporters, revered as a champion of the people, and nicknamed … Read more
For most of the twentieth century, nearly half of Kenya’s land area existed outside the national imagination. The Northern Frontier District (NFD) — stretching from the Tana River to the Ethiopian border — was a vast, semi-arid expanse of deserts, plateaus, and seasonal rivers. Populated by nomadic pastoralists such as the Somali, Borana, Rendille, Samburu, … Read more
Kenya’s culture is a reflection of its diverse peoples, histories, and landscapes. The country is home to more than forty-four ethnic communities, each with distinct languages, traditions, and worldviews. Yet, despite this diversity, Kenyans share a strong sense of collective identity rooted in the ideals of Harambee — pulling together for the common good. Kenya’s … Read more
Kenya’s independence on 12 December 1963 marked the end of more than seventy years of British colonial rule. The road to freedom was long, violent, and complex, shaped by both armed resistance and political negotiation. It was not granted as a gift but won through generations of struggle — from the earliest uprisings against imperial … Read more
Long before Nairobi became a city of traffic jams and ride-hailing apps, its roads told a different story. The matatu — a Swahili slang for “three cents,” the original fare — began as a hustler’s innovation and grew into Kenya’s loudest form of street art. This gallery traces that journey from the dusty streets of … Read more