NAIVASHA BOY THAT ALMOST KILLED KENYATTA.

Kariuki Chotara, then 16yrs, had been sentenced to a prison term after he was convicted of murder. He was jailed at Manyani Prison but escaped and run away to Naivasha, when he was caught back, colonial authorities send him to Lokitaung, Kapenguria the prison that hosted Kapenguria six. Due to od age, Kenyatta was assigned lighter duties and special treatment. He however had difficult times coping with the rest freedom fighters which created a bad blood. They decided to finish mzee by and decided to use the young boy for reasons stated below. 

The attack which was kept secret happened in the morning as they were taking breakfast when Kenyatta stood up to fetch water. The young man took the knife and run towars Kenyatta, fortunately Kariuki chotara trouser caught a sprinter of a wood in the table, Kenyatta catch the young mans arm which had the knife and shouted to general china for help who rushed to save Kenyatta. Kagia, Kungu Karumba and the rest tried to hold general china back and let Chotara stamp Kenyatta but china overturned the table and managed to grab the knife from Chotara. The prison warden run and separated them. It was discovered that the killing of mzee Kenyatta was mastermind by the rest. The young man was used and incited by others since he was underage to receive the death sentence if it happen and mzee dies. Chotara was sentenced to solitary confinement, penal diet and 12strokes and later transferred to lodwar. Afterwards, all the rest kapenguria 5 were awarded state positions after independence, while Chotara waited until President Daniel Moi's tenure to make a political breakthrough.

“The inquiry which followed recorded that a recent newcomer to the prison, a young man said to be twice or thrice a convicted murderer saved from the death sentence by reason of being under 18 years of age... set upon Mzee with a knife in the prison but he was prevented by a prison warder from carrying out his intention.” The district commissioner in charge of kapenguria wrote in his statement.

By. J.Mucheru

When Lake Naivasha was an international airport.

Naivasha was one of the first to be settled by white people and one of the hunting grounds of the hedonistic Happy Valley set but that’s a story of another day.  

Before establishment of LAKE NAIVASHA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT BY IMPERIAL AIRWAY, Ann and Herbert Sparks had built a hotel along the shore of the lake, but it could barely host any guest. The history say they stayed for 3years without accommodating any human. The first five rooms of their hotel, still standing today at the same spot though repeatedly modified, enlarged, and modernized, were completed by 1933, allowing Ann and His fiancée to take in paying guests, but the “official” opening, cutting tape, cake and all, still had to wait until Christmas Day in 1935 when, according to records obtained, the “Sparks” was fully booked.  Well, Imperial Airways of Britain landed their flying boat planes on Lake Naivasha when it opened a route to Cape Town via Naivasha in 1932. Back then, the preferred mode of air transport was flying boats.

The hotel soon gained a reputation as a comfortable and conveniently located rest stop for those taking the hard road from Nairobi into the Great African Rift Valley or vice versa, but only when Imperial Airways commenced their long distance flights between London and Durban with the legendary “flying boats” – huge “beasts” in those days – did the hotel began its rise to fame and glory which lasted to the present day. These flying contraptions landing on water came from the River Thames via the Mediterranean Sea to the Nile delta near Alexandria and then flew along the river with further landings in Khartoum before breaking the journey in Naivasha, the lake being Kenya’s first international airport in a manner of speaking. Crews and passengers initially stayed on land for night stops along the route, and the trip taking several days, allowed in particular the passengers to take in some real life experiences en route. Lions back then were reportedly still roaming the floor of the Rift Valley, and their roars could be heard at night, causing probably fear and hopes among the airline guests for the swift onset of daylight, considering the stories passengers had heard about the man-eating lions of Tsavo which had taken quite a few fellow Englishmen in their days and more locals in addition to the “imported food” when the railway was constructed some 30 odd years earlier. http://safariprideadventures.com/