Renowned paleoanthropologist Richard Leakey has defended his move to construct a Sh 8.5bn Ngaren Museum in Kajiado County. This follows the Turkana governor Josphat Nanok accused Dr Leakey of robbing the Turkana people of their heritage.
The governor said Ngarem ought to be built within the archaeological site where humankind’s oldest human fossils, Turkana Boy was discovered and not in Kajiado. The project was earmarked for construction in Turkana.
Dr Leakey defended his move and said that it is the culmination of his global lifetime evolution work. He said the museum was a national project that elevates Kenya’s stature as a tourism destination telling the evolution story via technology that rebuilds long gone eras enabling visitors to experience life as it was two millions of years ago.
“I am giving science of evolution a home where children can learn importance of conservation and understand why we have no food, calamities such as floods and pandemics now befall us. We can reverse such ills by understanding what harmoniously held nature together. Choice of Kajiado makes commercial sense and Kenya needs the evolution museum that enriches its tourism product while attracting up to 400,000 visitors annually. It will be the only one in Africa and I have partners willing to actualize this dream for posterity,” said Dr Leakey.
Ngaren Museum
Dr Leakey added that none of the fossils would be transferred to Ngarem as they were national treasures held at National Museums of Kenya in secured troves. The researcher said Turkana government has shunned sponsorship of any of its projects where he helped raise funds for construction of an institute that will oversee year-round evolution research the two counties.
Ngaren museum, he said, is to be set up next to the East African Museum of Art that will be tasked with displaying contemporary African art history from the dawn of human civilization to the present times. The museum will house artifacts such as plant and animal fossils and findings such as primitive tool remnants. The project’s design comprise two structures modelled on some of the earliest hand tools used by humans to make carvings. In renderings, these appear to be built of stoney blocks sculpted into a tapered and pointed shape that resemble stalagmites. A third, dome-shaped building will complete the museum.
