Leave the Aberdares Forest alone in plans for new road

Road heading to Aberdares Forest. The proposed road through the Aberdares Forest connecting Nyandarua and Nyeri counties makes political sense, but it does not make economic and ecological sense. The two regions have historical significance both locally and internationally. For starters, Kenya's contribution to World War II has never been fully acknowledged, beginning with training pilots as evidenced by plane wreckages in the Aberdares and Mt Kenya mountains. A team I was part of found a Blenheim bomber that went down in 1943 on the northern side of the Aberdares. I can take you to see it. There are more wreckages in both forests. The other contribution was thousands of Kenyan soldiers who fought for the Empire in faraway places like Burma, Libya, and Madagascar. Who will ever recognise these heroes? Have you seen the well-manicured Commonwealth war cemeteries? Why can't we have such for our veterans? The other contribution is using Kenya as the launching pad to defeat the Italians in Ethiopia, then Abyssinia. It was WWII's first major victory over Nazi Germany and its allies, a big boast to war efforts. Kenyans were involved, I got an original discharge certificate from one Geoffrey Ng'ang'a Gitagia, who was a driver in the Ethiopian Campaign. It's this Ethiopian campaign that matters most in this story. Let me explain. Gilgil was still a military base in WWII and so was Isiolo. To move war supplies from Gilgil to Isiolo, the Britons built a road on the northern edge of the Aberdares through Ol Kalou, Shamata and onward to Isiolo. The road is motorable, and it's a shortcut from Gilgil, Nakuru, and Naivasha to Nyeri. It only needs about 30km of tarmac from a small town called Kariamu, 7km from Ol Kalou then up the escarpment through Shamata or Kaheho to Gieterero on the Nyahururu-Nyeri Road. The beauty of this road is that no feasibility study is necessary. The British military strategists did one 75 years ago! Apart from being a shortcut, it has other positive spillovers. One, it will open up the Aberdares National Park from the Shamata Gate. Believe me, that is the most beautiful route to Satima, the highest peak on the Aberdares. You will see WWII plane wreckages and the source of the Malewa River, which you cross after Naivasha on the way to Gilgil. Mau Mau caves and other rock structures will leave you breathless. Shamata, which means high in Masai, is a rich agricultural land with potatoes as the key crop in addition to vegetables like carrots, cabbages, kales, sheep rearing (wool was once gold) and dairying. Weather mirrors And there is potential for more. The weather mirrors that of the Western Cape in South Africa. This could one day become a wine country. Is that why Boers ( Afrikaans) once made this area their home? They left evidence. I came across the tomb of one " Anna Maria Cornelia Crous (1886-19400). One Boer, probably related to Crous, married two Kikuyu girls - Wangechi and Kagure. Mama Itegi, who worked for Crous confided to me. How many South African tourists would we get with this connection? Then a surprise - Shamata Ward had three airstrips! Only one inside Aberdares national park still exists. Patrick Clark Turner (Wabici-ini) owned one airstrip. Tony Dyer (Kwa Ndaya) held the other one. These two are now mashamba ya watu (people's farms). Who thought we could own planes in our lifetime? Three, this road passes through one of Nyandarua County's most famous but unexploited treasures - the Happy Valley, well chronicled by Juliet Barnes in" Ghosts of Happy Valley." The Britons and other nationalities made Happy Valley their home in the rolling 1920s. That included Davo Davis, one of the late American gangster Al Capone's bodyguards. Add the historical houses and sceneries like the view of Lake Ol Bollosat and Naivasha, Mt Longonot and Kipipiri from the escarpment. With all these tourism and agricultural potential, why bother with the sacred Aberdares Forest? It's sacred for two reasons: it's a source of life-giving water, including for Nairobi (Sasumua Dam) and Nakuru. Who among those reading this story gets water 24/7? Two, it's where freedom fighters fought and died as they waged the Mau Mau war, which finally humbled the British Empire. The road through the mountain can remain murram like American trails for the adventurers and tourists. Those in a hurry to cross between Nyandarua and Nyeri counties can start their trip a day earlier. Why disturb wild animal habitats? We have occupied all the land they once owned. They have as much rights to this planet as human beings. To any doubters, they die like us and leave this planet for the next generation. When will our selfishness reach a limit? Disclosure: I have genetic and strategic interests in the northern edge of the Aberdares.

Leave the Aberdares Forest alone in plans for new road

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Leave the Aberdares Forest alone in plans for new road

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