A Treasure Trove indeed

For ages I have been promising myself a trip to the Kenyan National Archives, which is in fact a museum housed in the old Bank of India Building, which dates back to the 1930s. The ground floor houses a vast private collection which belonged to Joseph Murumbi, Kenya's Second Vice President, which is a mind-blowing collection of Africana - ranging from artwork, musical instruments, masks, tribal masks and weaponry, stamps - yes I even found these interesting! and tons of other paraphernalia. Below are some of the photos I took.

Kenyan National Archives, located in the Central Business District of Nairobi

Joseph Murumbi Trust Gallery

Upstairs there is an amazing photographic exhibit, cataloging Kenya through the centuries, including some photos of the build-up to Independence, photos of the last Mau Mau uprising fighters, Queen Mother visiting Kenya next to an Equator-marking globe - have to find out if this still exists, Kikuyu tribe performing bloodletting and more. The list just goes on and on... but it was 1) prohibited to take photographs ... and 2) despite being discreet, pretending to be texting! my blackberry takes very low resolution photos, so some are better than others.

There is a letter displayed, which was subsequent toTom Mboya's meeting with JFK about airlifting East African students to America in order to study there. There were several such airlifts, and Barak Obama Sr. was one of the second batch of students to go to the US - he was granted a scholarship to the University of Hawaii, and then Harvard - he met President Obama's mother, Stanley Ann Dunham in Hawaii, but she died in 1942 - never seeing her eldest son as President. Tom Mboya was a very prominent Kenyan politician, founder of the Nairobi People's Congress Party and a key figure in the formation of the Kenya African National Union. He was assassinated in 1969 by an unknown assassin*.

Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth - I am now trying to find out if this Equator globe still exists

Apparently there was an old custom of cutting forehead with knife to relieve headaches?!!! call me old-fashioned, but I prefer to take ibuprofen any day...

This chap is wearing an over-sized nose pendant - must have been difficult to eat

and I thought some of my earrings were heavy!

Kenyatta with one of the Mau Mau

The KANU poster campaigning for independence from England

Kenyatta in fabulous leopard print regalia - gotta love this photo

In one corner of the first floor, there is the first Presidential seat - well it is more like a red leather throne - very impressive, and stands next to a bronze bust of the late President Jomo Kenyatta. I was desperate to sit in it and have my photo taken, but alas, it is cordoned off by a rusty looking chain.

Kenyatta's ceremonial chair

Also on the first floor is the Reading Room, where, with the help of the librarians, you can access anything and everything Kenyan on their rather archaic-looking computer system. So I couldn't resist but ask for papers relating to the murder inquest of Josslyn Hay, 22nd Earl of Erroll, for which Sir Jock Delves Broughton stood trial for murder. I couldn't believe my eyes when the official court record was placed into my hands - and the librarian asked me what research I was undertaking, "Oh no, I responded, it's for a blog post!". With raised eyebrows he suspiciously handed me the thick volumes, adding that no-one had requested to see them since 1972. I briefly wrote about this case in my post of 14 March http://lifeasitiswasandcouldbe.blogspot.com/2012/03/nairobi-murder-mystery.html

I leafed my way through the voluminous wafer thin pages with total fascination, I think I may even have been shaking! I read the original witness statements and exhibits with the red pencil underlinings and question marks of the prosecution. I could barely contain my excitement. Perhaps I would find something incriminating which no-one had ever previously spotted.... most unlikely. I took some photographs of a couple of pages, but was immediately reprimanded by the librarians. I gave them an apologetic smile and a "handshake" and they seemed to forgive me. Personally, I think that Broughton was just a jealous sad man, and whilst perfectly capable of murdering Joss, I don't believe he did. I, along with many, believe that Alice de Janze was the murderess, and not that I am any kind of sleuth, but it is more than feasible for her to have murdered her former lover. Yet why did the prosecution not follow-up on her being a suspect? In the file I "examined" witness statements taken from Alice and Dickie Pembrooke both stating that they were in bed together - each other's alibi. She was totally capable, having shot her ex-husband, and no doubt had a motive since she was riddled with jealousy over Joss' affair with Diana, Jock's young wife. But like many other unsolved murders we will never know. Had my dad (a former Detective Chief Superintendant, Head of the Criminal Investigation Department) been on the case, as opposed to Inspector Poppy, I am certain he would have put everyone out of their misery by solving the case and having had the culprit proved guilty as charged in transparent court proceedings.