Unknown persons broke into the Njuri Ncheke shrine at Mitheru Tourism and Cultural Centre, in Tharaka Nithi County
The thieves stole several Ameru cultural artefacts and eight doors
The facility is owned by the Tharaka Nithi County government but is run by the Ameru Njuri Ncheke Council of Elders
Njuri Ncheke elders Japhet Njagi, confirmed they had lost several items including clothes and musical instruments
“The houses have been vandalised and very many cultural artefacts, including bows, arrows, spears, shields, baskets, shoes, and pottery, stolen by the criminals,” he said.
Njuri Ncheke elders ordered the criminals to return the items, including the doors, and apologise or they would be cursed and face unspecified consequences.
“Destroying this facility amounts to killing our culture, because we do not have another place where one can see and learn about our culture in the entire Maara constituency,” said an elder
The centre was originally meant as a stopover for local and international tourists entering the Mt Kenya forest through the Chogoria gate.
Guards who had been hired by the county government of Tharaka Nithi to provide security at the shrine withdrew their services after the county government stopped paying them
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