MAGICAL MURANG’A: MWISHO WA RAHA

You haven’t lived if you have never been to Mwisho wa Raha in Murang’a County. Located in the pristine highlands near the Aberdares, Mwisho wa Raha is a site that features a nascent oxbow lake along the river Mathioya-one of the culturally significant rivers among the Agikuyu people.

Nearby is the Tutho Adoration Chapel of the Catholic Church. Shaped in the form of a traditional Kikuyu stool, this church sits on the site where the Consolata missionaries conducted the first mass in Kenya in 1902.The Consolata Fathers were en route to Ethiopia when they encountered Karuri wa Gakure in the streets of Nairobi where he was peddling ivory. Karuri promised them some land and security and that’s how they ended up in Tutho, Murang’a. His graveside is near the Catholic church where he was interred in 1916.

Tutho sits on a bowl of unspoilt beauty that’s surrounded on both sides by elevated ridges. One of them being the Wanjerere ridge-the site of epic supremacy battles between Chief Karuri and Chief Wang’ombe of Tetu in the late 1890s.

Mwisho wa Raha features picture poster card scenes, pristine rivers and panoramic views of the tea farms around. The rarified alpine air coupled with idyll countryside makes the area a perfect site for weekend getaway.

Back in the day, the area had a hotel that featured trout fishing where Sir Charles Njonjo loved to spend the weekends. Sadly, it is no longer in operation. The construction of the Mau Mau road presents an opportunity to open up this area to tourist’s opportunities. Which can include trout fishing, zip lining, forest bathing, water sports, religious pilgrimage and even agro tourism.