Heritage at risk: National Museums of Kenya in financial crisis

Key sites and monument that are crucial to Kenya’s heritage, including some on the World Heritage List are under threat as the official custodian, the National Museums of Kenya (NMK), suffers from a lack of funds to preserve and maintain them. 

The Museums’ management is concerned that national monuments and sites that are in dire need of rehabilitation could be permanently damaged, as revenues fall below operation costs as a result of the slump in the tourism industry.

The government has also been reducing the budgetary allocation to the Museums in the past five years, making it difficult for the custodian of national heritage to run conservation and restoration works at various sites.

National monuments and sites are secured under the National Museums and Heritage Act, 2009, which gives NMK the mandate of protection, conservation and transmission of the cultural and natural heritage of Kenya.

For example, the seafront section of the 15th century Fort Jesus in Mombasa requires massive rehabilitation and walls to protect it from the pounding waves during high tide, while the Vasco da Gama Pillar in Malindi at the North Coast on the point of collapse following the corrosion of the pillar’s base by the sea. Stabilisation works, it is estimated will cost Ksh17 million ($181,000).

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Other monuments around the country in need of rehabilitation include; the Kenyatta houses in Lodwar and Lokitaung (where the founding president, Jomo Kenyatta, was detained by the colonialists before Independence); the recently erected Dedan Kimathi and Tom Mboya statues in central Nairobi, especially the latter, which has already been vandalised. 

The recent collapse of a section of the Vanga Customs House, has caused a major concern in conservation circles. The Vanga Customs House was a single-storey building in Msambweni, Kwale County on the South Coast, built by the British in early 20th century, was used as the revenue collection point for dhows docking from the neighbouring countries until 1980. The collapse last October killed one person and destroyed a nearby mosque. Its restoration will cost Ksh15 million ($159,000).

Also threatened is the National Collection at the Nairobi Museum. The collection is in danger of being destroyed because of inadequate conservation measures and storage in the past five years.

The newly appointed director-general of Museums, Dr Mzalendo Kibunjia, is now appealing to the government for a one-off rescue package of Ksh800 million ($8.5 million) if the institution is to save the country’s sites, monuments and collection from permanent ruin.

“There is no way we can get out of this problem unless we get a rescue package from the government. We are appealing for the same rescue package that was given to hotels at the Coast that suffered from lack of business following a terrorism-related slump in bookings.

“The same should be extended to the Museums. Once we get the rescue package, the Museums can take care of its business from that point onwards,” said Dr Mzalendo.

He noted that a combination of reductions in the Museums’ budgetary allocation and the slump in tourism has seriously affected the institution’s ability to preserve the sites and monuments.

A good example of how the government can work with the Museums to enhance conservation work is the recent erection of the Turkana Monument in Turkana County, representing a replica of the world’s most complete early hominid fossil ever discovered.

The 1.6-million-year-old fossil, named Nariokotome Boy and commonly known as Turkana Boy, was found in 1984 by Kamoya Kimeu, who was part of the Richard Leakey-led team that was surveying the site.

The monument was built at a cost of Ksh20 million a collaboration between the national government, National Museums of Kenya and the Turkana County government. President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to officially open the monument to the public next month. The monument is expected to boost tourism arrivals in the archaeologically-rich Turkana area.

Kenya — with its rich archaeological finds and numerous examples of immovable cultural heritage — has seven sites and monuments on the prestigious Unesco World Heritage List.

These are: Fort Jesus, Kaya Forests, Lamu Old Town, Mt Kenya, the Sibiloi National Park, Lake Turkana, and the lakes systems in the Rift Valley that comprise Lakes Nakuru, Elementeita and Bogoria. Being on the World Heritage List means that a cultural site or landscape has been recognised for its value to humankind.

The three lakes provide unique biodiversity and sustain 75 per cent of the globally threatened population of Lesser Flamingos, Lesser Kestrel and white-headed vulture. Besides, the three lakes form an important stopover site for migratory birds flying from Europe, Asia and South Africa.

The National Collection being held by the Museums — though originating from various counties — will remain national treasures although they can be loaned to those who want to exhibit them locally in the counties.

The collection includes various archaeological finds and specimens such as the Turkana Boy, plus various cultural artefacts from all the country’s 42 ethnic groups, put together over the years since the National Museums of Kenya Museum was established in 1910.

Dr Mzalendo said that he is planning innovative programmes to improve the Museums’ financial standing such as setting up a Ksh1 billion ($10 million) endowment fund that will be used to boost research activities at the institution and improve its operations.

Endowment funds are normally set up by non-profit institutions such as universities, hospitals and churches, and allow regular withdrawals for operations or special projects.

Fort Jesus in Mombasa which used to collect Ksh10 million ($106,000) per month in tourist fees two years ago, is now collecting only Ksh450,000 ($4,700), while the Nairobi Museum now earns only Ksh2 million ($21,000) down from Ksh9 million per month two years ago. 

The National Museums of Kenya is currently facing a deficit of Ksh300 million ($3.2 million) annually since expenditure has remained at Ksh1.1 billion ($10 million), while income has gone down to 800 million ($8.5 million). The institution is also struggling with bills of Ksh750 million ($7.9 million) dating back to June 2014.

Dr Kibunjia added that the Museums will also introduce specialised courses on geology, natural history and prehistory, to attract the middle class.
Museums’ staff will also receive mandatory training on how to write applications for grants.

The government already supports a rehabilitation programme for Lamu’s Old Town, but more needs to be done. The programme has put aside a rotating fund of Ksh1 billion ($10 million) for the rehabilitation of historic homes in Old Town threatened by private developers.

Property owners in Old Town are expected to borrow money at one per cent interest from the rotating fund to rehabilitate their homes and keep developers from buying and demolishing them in order to put up modern units.

A number of buildings in Mombasa’s Old Town are also gazetted as national monuments although they are privately owned. The owners are prohibited from doing repair works without permission from the Museums, and are not allowed to demolish the houses to put up modern ones either.

The Old Town has narrow alleys of unique Swahili architecture, featuring multi-storeyed coral stone houses with carved wooden doors and windows and carved wood hanging balconies, and is considered a living cultural heritage. 

Besides a lack of funds for conservation, the Museums is also grappling with transition following the transfer of some of its functions and management roles to county governments following the promulgation of a new constitution in 2010 that created 47 counties.

The Museums, which previously managed 21 museums and nine sites and monuments countrywide, is now in the process of handing them over to county governments. 

County governments will now be in charge of what were once considered national monuments and have to manage them according to national and international standards. 

The exact number of sites and monuments to be handed over to the Counties is yet to be established but the Museums is going to retain those with international significance such as Fort Jesus.

Sites like Thimlich Ohinga in Migori County, the Tom Mboya and Jaramogi Oginga Odinga mausoleums and libraries in western Kenya, are also to be retained by the national institution given that the transition to county governments will be implemented in phases.

Already, the Loyangalani Desert Museum in northwestern Kenya has been taken over by Marsabit County which has already invested Ksh20 million for its improvement.