Return ‘Man Eaters of Tsavo’, Kenya tells US

By Peter Orengo

Kenya has asked the US to facilitate the return of the remains of the famous ‘Man Eaters of Tsavo’.

Speaking on Tuesday, the Director of National Museums of Kenya Idle Farah said they had notified the US government, through the Ministry of Heritage and Culture, that the remains were part of the history of the country, and that Kenya was demanding their return.

In March 1898, the British started building a railway bridge over the Tsavo River. Over the next nine months, two large male lions killed and ate nearly 140 railway workers.

Crews lit campfires and wrapped thorn fences for protection, to no avail. Hundreds of workers fled the Tsavo, halting construction.

Henry Patterson, who killed the two lions, used their skins as rugs until 1924, when they were sold to the Chicago Field Museum for $5,000.

The lions were then reconstructed with their original skulls and are now on permanent display.

Kenya Railways Corporation on Tuesday entered a pact with the National Museum of Kenya to reclaim the lions. The MoU, signed by Ms Farah and the Managing Director of Kenya Railways, Nduva Muli, will facilitate the sharing of technical and professional experience.

"The relationship has provided an opportunity for Nairobi Railways Museum, opened in 1971, to count on the experience of the National Museums of Kenya, to preserve its rich heritage and enhance its market to tourists visiting the country," Ms Muli said in Nairobi, on Tuesday.

Farah said the co-operation would open up a railways-related site at Voi, which the National Museums of Kenya will build for Sh3 million.