Gîtonga wa Mûciri, Gîkûyû Elder, Kenya

Gîtonga wa Mûchiri was born some 73 years ago, in Maraigushu area of Naivasha. At the peak of the struggle for Kenya’s independence, his family was forcefully moved from their home in 1952 and resettled some 200 km away against their will in the present day Muranga County. His father was a freedom fighter who was detained without trail by the colonial government, while he and his mother were forced to labour for the colonial government, digging moots around the same detention camp where his father was incarcerated. At the dawn of Kenya’s independence, Gîtonga returned to Maraigushu in 1962. In the 1970s, he started coordinating traditional and cultural activities of the Agîkûyû (aka Kikuyu) in Naivasha and Kinangop areas of Central Kenya. In 1977, he was consecrated as a full elder of the Agîkûyû (mûthuri wa Kîama). Over the years, Gîtonga wa Mûchiri has acquired the status of a sage among the Agîkûyû who are mainly associated with Mount Kenya, due to his venerable status and deep wisdom. The Agîkûyû of Kenya regard Mt Kenya as the home of God (Kîrîma kîa Ngai mwene nyaga) from where he created Gîkûyû and Mûmbi, the ancestral parents of the Agîkûyû people, and apportioned them the land delineated by 5 mountains where they are domiciled as agriculturalists to date. The sage, Gîtonga wa Mûchiri, is well versed in the history, religion, and, cultural norms, practices and traditions of the Agîkûyû. Over the years, he has acquired and honed his vast knowledge of traditional and herbal medicinal remedies and is a great conservationist of indigenous plant species. He lives on his farm in Karati area of Naivasha where he has conserved over 400 tree species in a pristine and natural environment that is also home to a variety of wild animals and provides him and his family with pure spring water.