Oral literature of the Ameru traces the community’s origin to Mbwaa, a place believed to be an island on the coast of Kenya. The Ameru were forced to flee their home when another community, simply known as The Red People, waged war on them in the 15th century. After settling along the northeastern slopes of Mount Kenya, new structures were created to govern their society. 

The Council Founders 

One of the structural changes included the formation of a council by a respected member of the community. His name was Kaura o Bechau, and he founded a council of elders named Njuri Ncheke. The word Njuri translates to “thinning out” but its meaning corresponds to “committee of the few”. The council lived up to its name with a strict admission policy.  Only older, wealthy men from established bloodlines were allowed. The members also had to have warrior sons to be admitted into the governing council.  

 A parcel of land was consecrated for use as a shrine in the Ncheke Plains, selected due to its centrality in the Meru region. A large dome-shaped hut was built on this shrine that mirrored the shape and size of an elder’s hut. This shrine was named Nchiru; it is here that the elders have exercised their leadership, acting as a north star to guide the Ameru through times of peace and volatility. Many landmark rulings have been made at Nchiru, including Njuri Ncheke’s stance against female genital mutilation in 1956, which led to a significant decrease in this practice. 

In the 1960s, the old hut was pulled down and a more permanent structure erected in its place, albeit retaining the traditional architectural design. Consequently, the new seat of power was constructed using building stones and roofed with corrugated iron sheets.  

Changing Times 

The Njuri Ncheke underwent a period of dormancy in the post-independence years. As council meetings at Nchiru became infrequent, the structure was vandalized and stripped of some of the building materials. As a result, the National Museums of Kenya interceded in 1985 and assumed responsibility for maintaining the shrine. The governance of Njuri Ncheke was revitalized afterwards as the elders were endowed as custodians of the shrine. Nchiru was granted monument status on 13th July 1994 and has since benefitted from increased protection under this distinction.  

In 2019, the county government of Meru in partnership with the National Museums of Kenya pledged to build a cultural center on a portion of the Nchiru land. The center is meant to preserve Ameru culture and serve as an educational center for visitors. This decision elicited mixed reactions from the community. Some saw it as an opportunity to propagate knowledge about the community’s traditions and others viewed this as the desecration of a sacred space. Despite this controversy, ground was broken on the site in January 2020 and construction of the center is still underway. 

The Resilience of Indigenous Governance 

The governance of the Njuri Ncheke has spanned centuries, evolving gradually in the face of modernization. The council remains prominent among the Ameru, serving as judge and jury for community disputes. Their sphere of influence speaks volumes about indigenous governance systems’ role in maintaining law and order at the grassroots level. 

Have you been to Nchiru before? Share more knowledge about the Njuri Ncheke with us! 

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