Ringing story of exotic Kilifi bells whose melodies charmed church

St Thomas Aglican Church in Kilifi.

It was unimaginable to mix white sins and black sins. To achieve  this, every time the six centre pieces hit the walls of the gigantic bells in a rhythmic order, the white congregants would meekly enter the porch and occupy the 15 wooden pews.

One level above the 20 or so worshipers, a pair of six black hands would alternately let loose the nooses and wait, without a word being uttered so as not to contravene the notice nailed on the wall.

PLEASE. SILENT, the notice screamed in capital letters, and then continued in a more conversational tone: Muwe wepesi wa kusikiza lakini si wa kusema (be quick to listen but slow in speaking).

After one and a half hours, the first service for the white masters would be over and the six pairs of hands would yet again tug at the ropes, causing the huge brass knockers to quarrel, resulting in an incredibly loud melody which could be heard 10 kilometres away.

Mood of service

This musical summon was achieved through the rhythmical movement of the pulley attached to each of the bells, activated by the gentle tugging of the rope which was passed through the concrete slab of the tower vide some holes, leading to the wooden platform one storey tower.

A schedule and the order of which bell should go first and the next to follow fluidly was ordained by a piece of paper which still stands today, pinned on a wall. This and the fact that the bells were of different sizes and rang in certain order explains the musical notes they produced to march the mood of the service.

If a worshiper had died and a special mass had to be held, the bell would toll and the expert ears of the worshipers would know that they had lost a colleague and congregate at St Thomas ACK church.

On Saturdays when some members were being joined in holy matrimony, the bells would again toll but this time in melodies that projected the joyous occasion. This happens even today.

The history of the exotic bells is as captivating as that of the construction of St Thomas Anglican Church in Kilifi, whose roots can be traced to 1921, when the Church Mission Society missionaries who set foot in the area only one year after Kenya became a colony.

Although numerous churches and denominations across Kenya and in East and Central Africa, use bells to announce the start of a service, none has bells similar to those installed at the Kilifi church.

The history of the bells, just like that of the church is entwined with that of one its most prolific vicar, Paul Kelly, who used his office and contacts both in Kenya and Europe to achieve a feat which is still unmatched in East and Central Africa.

Kelly, who stood at the pulpit most Sundays also doubled as the Kilifi district commissioner, was a man whose law was order and the face of the all powerful government as the country hurtled through political turmoil in the 1950s on its way to self determination and freedom.

When the idea of constructing a church was mooted, a building committee comprising elders was constituted. The committee members were the vicar, Reverend Mzungu, the DC and his driver Gideon Ngetsa who also served as the interpreter. Others were Enock Bworu Komora, Joseph Mawandi and Jones Fondo.

The church's famous bells.

Every Sunday, Ngetsa would drive his boss to church and accompany him during the second service where he translated into Kiswahili what the clergyman preached.

The unofficial curator, Kelvin Randu who is  the custodian of its history explains that initially the church started at Kazinguni, next to where Tororo Cement is located today soon after the missionaries but later moved to Kilifi town next to Kenya Commercial Bank and ultimately moved to its current site. 

Kelly had grand plans for the church whose structure and colour was inspired by shape of a giraffe.

According to its architectural design, one wing was to be taller than the rest of the building as it was meant to be two storeys. This well aerated section was to act as tower to host the bell in the upper chamber and the ropes for ringing the bells on a lower level.

Another slightly higher section was envisaged to look like as giraffe’s head while the last par was the body, complete with protruding section which was meant to be a tail.

To achieve these aesthetics, special stones from Samburu along Mackinon Road, which is about 130 kilometres away were sourced.

The DC also volunteered to fetch the stones that glittered like sand stones. He donated his interpreter and driver, Ngetsa, who was also a member of the building committee.

And so whenever he was not driving his boss, Ngetsa would go to Samburu and fetch  the stones and deliver them to the place the church stands today. Some other stones were ferried from a quarry in Kilifi.

When all the materials were gathered, the DC again invoked the power of his office. Prisoners were engaged to construct the church although they could not be entrusted with carrying out some delicate finishing.

Some officers from Ministry of Public Works were directed to supervise the convicts although Bworu and Mawandi ensured that everything was executed just as the church committee wanted.

Another committee member, Samson Zakaria was put in charge of furniture that had been crafted by some skilled labourers.

And even as the construction was going on, Kelly approached his friends in Britain and Europe who donated funds for its completion.

On December 24 1961, when the church was officially opened by Archbishop Leonard I Beecher, head of the Anglican Church in East Africa, everybody was astounded when the bells loudly tolled in tune to some beautiful music.

Apparently, Kelly had used his influence in Europe and England to raise funds to procure the six bells that were then ferried to Kilifi and installed ahead of the opening of the church.

“As a primary school boy, I was attracted to the church by the bells. I would listen to them keenly but I had no idea that one day I would be one of the six bell ringers. I had to be flown to Britain to learn how to ring them,” said 68-year-old  Stephen Ngumbao.

Ngumbao is a second generation bell ringer, whose cohort was trained in England in 1994. He was among David Saha, who acts as the captain of the tower, Stephen Okune, Raymond Nzaro, Renson Tsuma, Florence Jumanziro, Edah Ponga and Lennox Chalo.

“Although I had been ringing the bell before 1994, it was after the trip to England that I appreciated how the bell should be rang so as to produce music. All along I had been ringing bell number five and when rang in symphony with others, it produces nice music,” Ngumbao said.