Leakey 'conned' fossil hunter Kamoya of his discoveries

Conservationist Richard Leakey congratulates Kamoya Kimeu, a Kenyan palaeontologist after he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Case Western Reserve University in the US for his contribution to human ancestry, at an event in Nairobi, on May 30, 2021. [David Njaaga, Standard]

In basic history lessons, Ludwig Krapf is credited with "discovering" Mt Kenya when indigenous herders had regaled in its majesty for millennia. However, Krapf was only the first European to report seeing Mt Kenya way back in 1849.

Fast forward a hundred years later when Kamoya Kimeu excelled in fossil hunting, first under Louis Leaky and later under his son Richard, who was National Museums of Kenya boss for many years.