Kenya's only king, King Peter Mumia II, cries out for recognition, bemoans loss of cultural identity

When the British arrived in Western in 1883, they found the Wanga Kingdom, the only organised state with a centralised hereditary monarch in Kenya.

In fact, the British used much of the Nabongo administrative system, which was up and running from the 18th century, as a stepping stone to territorial and political expansionism. The Wanga, who mainly inhabit Mumias in Kakamega County, have partly stuck to their culture. Some still build their houses and granaries using the architecture of their forefathers, use traditional herbs and medicines to treat the sick, cook using traditional pots, cultivate their lands using oxen ploughs and hoes and store their water in large pots as their ancestors did.