Nyeri Museum
Map
LocationNyeri, Kenya
Coordinates0°26′24″S 36°57′51″E / 0.439980°S 36.964068°E / -0.439980; 36.964068
TypeHistory museum

The Nyeri Museum (Swahili: Makumbusho ya Nyeri) is a history museum located in Nyeri, Kenya. The museum is dedicated to the history of Kenya and the Kikuyu culture.

History

Several members of the Nyeri Native Council inside the local courthouse circa 1940, which would later become the county museum.

The museum building was built in 1924, but it began to be used in 1925 to settle common law cases.[1] The intention with creating this building was to centralize the cases in a customary system of justice in the Colony of Kenya.[2] An additional hall was built due to the increase in cases, the reason for this is because the courtroom was unable to handle so many cases, civil cases were held in the first courtroom while criminal cases were held in the second courtroom.[3] In the 1970s, after the construction of the Nyeri Law Courts, this building became obsolete and was later used as a meeting hall by the Nyeri Municipal Council.[4] In 1997, control of the building was transferred to the National Museums of Kenya.[5] At that time, the National Museums of Kenya decided to renovate the building.[6] In 2001, the museum was declared national property.[3]

In November 2019, Google collaborated with the National Museums of Kenya, and among its programs included an adapted version of Google Street View of the Nyeri museum, in which it is possible to virtually visit the museum's rooms.[7]

Collections

The museum contains handmade weapons, iron shields and helmets used by the Mau Mau. The museum also contains a passbook used by the British to control the movement of different groups of peoples such as the Kikuyu, Meru and Embu.[8] The museum contains information about Kenya's independence process.[9] The museum has a collection of portraits of Tom Mboya and Pio Gama Pinto, as well as exhibits on the role of women in Kenyan history.[10] The museum also has a collection of photographs of the Askaris.[11] The museum contains helmets and shields from Kenya's colonial period, as well as bricks made by the Aguthi Works Camp detainees.[12] The museum also has helmets and shields from colonial times.[13]

References

  1. ^ "Nyeri Museum – National Museums of Kenya". Retrieved 2021-06-21.
  2. ^ "Kenya Museum Society: Tracker" (PDF). Kenya Museum Society. 2013. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
  3. ^ a b "Discover Kenya's History at its First Courtroom". Google Arts & Culture. Retrieved 2021-06-21.
  4. ^ Komu, Nicholas (2019-06-11). "Former 'pregnancies court' becomes cherished monument". Nation.Africa. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
  5. ^ "Nyeri County Weekly Review Issue No. 43" (PDF). 2020. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
  6. ^ Wamathai, James (2014-10-02). "Museums, vibrating cars and other Central Kenya stories". HapaKenya. Retrieved 2021-06-21.
  7. ^ Voice, Kenyan (2020-10-20). "Google Unveils 3D Images Of Kenya's First Courtroom Located in Nyeri". Kenyan Voice News. Retrieved 2021-06-21.
  8. ^ Amukangu, Benjamin; Esther, Mwangi (2021-09-30). "Inside Nyeri's oldest civil court". Kenya News Agency. Retrieved 2022-03-05.
  9. ^ "It is better to die on our feet than live on our knees for fear of colonial rule..." Museum of British Colonialism. Retrieved 2021-06-21.
  10. ^ Gitau, Wairimu (2014). "Kenya's Silence on Colonialism" (PDF). Carleton University. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
  11. ^ "Nyeri's native court set to be biggest national museum in central Kenya". Daily Nation. 2010-11-23. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
  12. ^ "Mau Mau Field Research in Kenya". Museum of British Colonialism. 2018-10-28. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
  13. ^ Cece, Siago (2019-07-09). "Little-known Mau Mau uprising memorial site". Daily Nation. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
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