Heritage

Church of the Torch in Kikuyu remains a shining beacon of light and hope

church

Church of the Torch in Kikuyu. PHOTO | DOUGLAS KIEREINI

The memories of those chilly, misty days in July at Thogoto Junior School, Kikuyu in 1964 still linger on. It was the season of coughs and runny noses, but the Mission Hospital was only a stone’s throw away, where a copius amount of a thick brown, bitter liquid mixture was the prescribed remedy.

Sure enough, within a day or two the cough would be gone, perhaps out of fear of having more of that horrible mixture being forced down your throat.

I suffered severe bouts of chilblains (painful inflammation of the skin caused by exposure to cold) and my fingers would be mummified in ointment and bandages for a week.

Come Sunday morning and the bells at the Church of the Torch across the road would summon us for worship. The church had neither doors nor windows and we entered through a series of magnificent arches.

Traditionally, church services would last no less than two hours and we had to bear the biting cold coming through the arches for the entire duration.

There was no public address system in the church but, to the architect’s credit, the acoustics were excellent and one could follow the proceedings without strain, as long as you understood the Kikuyu language!

In 1889, Sir William Mackinnon (chairman Imperial British East Africa Company, IBEA) and Alexander Low Bruce (IBEA director and son-in-law to David Livingstone) were mandated to establish a British sphere of influence in East Africa.

Mackinnon, a Scottish Highlander, saw an opportunity to hit back at the English and recommended setting up of Christian churches to evangelise and educate the African populace and foster trade with the interior.

The English regarded Africa as the “dark continent” whose only value was the vast natural resources it held and availability of cheap manual labour in the Africans themselves.

Knowing that the English would not support his recommendations, Mackinnon, in a “silent” rebellion, raised funds from his family and friends to establish Scottish Missions which would not only spread Christianity but also teach Africans to read and write.

The missions were established under the auspices of the East African Scottish Mission.

On October 16 1891, six missionaries arrived in Kibwezi, namely Thomas Watson (evangelist), John Linton (carpenter), John Grieg (engineer), Cornelius Rahman (storekeeper), Dr James Stewart (ordained minister) and Dr Robert Unwin Moffat (medical doctor).

They set up camp and began establishing a mission at Kibwezi, which appeared suitable because there was plenty of water.

However, by 1893, inclement weather and malaria had wiped out the team save for Thomas Watson and George Wilson who had joined them. In addition, the Kamba locals were uncooperative.

A decision was made to move the mission to a more friendly area and in 1898 Thomas Watson set up camp at Kikuyu.

By now the pillars of the Scottish missionaries had expanded to include not only evangelism and education but also medical and vocational training amongst Africans.

Watson started the Scottish Mission at Baraniki (present day Dagoretti Approved School) which became the first mission established inland from Kibwezi to Lake Victoria.

That site, however, proved unsuitable due to its steep topography and subsequently the mission moved to the present site at Thogoto and was renamed Kikuyu Mission, in 1899.

The Church of Scotland Mission took over the work of the East African Scottish Mission on December, 5 1900. Unfortunately, Thomas Watson succumbed to pneumonia on December, 4 1901, eleven months after marrying Minnie Cumming (Bibi wa Ngambi).

He was replaced by Dr David Clement Ruffell Scott from the Blantyre Mission in Nyasaland (present day Malawi).

The Mission expanded rapidly building several schools, a hospital, a vocational training centre and the Scott-Watson Memorial Church in 1909(Dr David Scott died in 1907).

The Church of the Torch (“Kimuri”) was built between 1928 and 1933, following an initiative by Dr Arthur after it became clear that the existing Scott-Watson Memorial Church across the road, was too small with it’s seating capacity of 250, for the rapidly expanding African congregation at Kikuyu. It was partly modelled after the Presbyterian Cathedral in Blantyre.

Built to a neo-Gothic design the layout is the traditional cruciform shape with a triple aisle nave, transept and apse. Walls consist of finely dressed masonary with recessed mortar joints beneath a Mangalore tiled roof supported by massive treated timber trusses.

Floors were originally finished in cement screed while internal doors are made of pannelled timber hung on wrought iron hinges and embellished timber frames. Pews are made of polished hand carved timber.

A magnificent belltower sits atop the building with a spire pointing to the heavens.

The original design did not provide for external doors and windows but large arched openings were incorporated.

Most of the design work was conceptualised in Scotland and they believed, quite rightly, that Kenya bestrode the Equator where the climate was extremely hot and the presence of the large arched openings would aid in providing much needed ventilation.

While that may have been largely true, they failed to realise that Kikuyu was some 200 kms south of the Equator and 6,639 ft above sea level!

There are many symbols contained in stained glass, torches and plaques all based on biblical teachings.

A deliberate theme is evident linking biblical teachings to an African way of life which was intended to create an environment of inclusivity for the targeted congregation.

The theme of the church being a “light in a dark continent” is evident throughout and this had a major bearing on the naming of the church.

The six windows in the apse are particularly interesting as they represent the six pieces of spiritual warfare armoury described by Paul in Ephesians 6:10-18, namely the shield of faith, the sword of the spirit, the belt of truth, the sandals of peace, the helmet of salvation and the breastplate of righteousness.

Perhaps if those misguided elements of the “satanic symbols” fame, who sought to destroy these precious works in 2004, had bothered to understand the “raison d’etre” of these symbols, their actions would have been entirely different.

The church was gazetted as a national monument on April, 11 2008. May this monument continue to be a beacon of light and hope, even in our darkest moments.

Mr Kiereini is a retired banker and motorcycle enthusiast. Email: [email protected]