The Kirinyaga Council of Elders has performed a ritual on two mugumo trees to allow their cutting down for the building of the Kenol-Sagana-Marua dual carriageway.
The fig trees have religious significance among the Agikuyu. The project contractor had been barred from clearing the sacred trees as they cannot be interfered with without the consent of the elders. It forced them to leave a section of the road where the fig trees stood undone until the elders conducted their rites. The road project then halted after the contractor had a rough time trying to change the course of the road.
“The rite was necessary to counter unprecedented misfortunes that could emerge as a result of desecrating the mugumo trees which are holy shrines. The trees have served their purpose for more than 500 years. The smoke that rose above and into the leaves of the sacred trees was a response that their ‘god’ was pleased with the meat aroma and gave them permission to do whatever they wanted with the trees,” said Mr Githaka, Chairman of the elders.
New shrine of worship
They also planted mugumo seedlings a few metres from where the trees stood. Mr Githaka explained that planting of the seedlings symbolises the transfer into a new shrine of worship and a resting place for the ancestral spirits.
The trees will be removed in three days so that the construction at the site can resume. The 84km road project starts from Kenol Township in Murang’a through Makutano and Sagana in Kirinyaga County, proceed to Kambiti in Machakos and end at Marua in Nyeri County. Phase one of the project will see 36 kilometres of road constructed from Sagana to Marua at a cost of Sh 6billion while the second phase will stretch for 48 kilometres from Kenol to Sagana at a cost of Sh 8billion. Eng. Wangai affirmed that the project, expected to be commissioned by President Uhuru Kenyatta will be about 80% done in a period of one year and will be partially operational.
Impacts of the road
The expansion of the Kenol-Sagana-Marua highway coded A2 is predicted to have major impact in the regions it cuts through, which are Murang’a, Kirinyaga, Nyeri, Machakos and Embu counties. Traveling time between Nyeri and Nairobi will be cut down by at least one hour and upon completion the highway will open up the northern corridor and create employment opportunities for thousands of residents in the agriculture, tourism, small and medium-sized enterprises sectors. The President is expected to inspect the project and will commission it once completed. He has been frequently assessing its progress.
The dual carriageway is the country’s second most expensive road after Thika superhighway. It will connect the Northern Corridor from Nairobi to the Lapsset Corridor in Isiolo, an African Development Bank (AfDB) financed project that is expected to link Kenya to Ethiopia.
