The mystery of Kengeleni where the stolen bell still tolls

Kengeleni heritage site where the historical bell was hang. The bell was used to a alert locals of the arrival of slave dealers in Mombasa. [Omondi Onyango, Standard]

The huge clay mold lying like a broken pot discarded by an angry mother aptly captures the sorry state of the national monument. All round the inanimate icon, there is flurry of activity as out-work drivers and touts haggle for “squads” from their colleagues.

Further away, harried hawkers battle with stall owners for customers as the incessant hooting of tuk tuk and matatus cry out for attention of pedestrians who are hurrying away from the tormenting heat. All are fighting for space to enter or leave Fidel Odinga Road and head to Mombasa Island or Bamburi and beyond.

In the 1980s, the space between the Mombasa-Malindi Highway and the road branching off to Kongowea heading to Nyali was unmistakable, not so much because of the glitterati that lived in the high-gated residences within the leafy suburbs but for its legacy.

The junction was and is still known as Kengeleni, a Kiswahili term denoting ‘place of the bell’ even though the iconic relic is no more.

Recaptured

When one ventures into the fenced off space which was once a park, you are welcomed by the chocking smell of urine and the endless stream of hawkers who relax on different postures, some standing on battered concrete benches. Once upon a time the place was a park populated with the indigenous mikilifi and mkomazi trees and the National Museums of Kenya had constructed the concrete benches for visitors to relax.

A visitor following up the history of the place asks in bewilderment: “But where is the bell?” to which a layabout turned tourist guide responds with a shrug of his shoulders:

“Kengele hailjulikani ikaenda wapi (It is not known where the bell disappeared to)”

Almasi Iddi Mohammed who uses the park as his base as he waits for his turn to serve as a conductor says he has been at Kongowea area for 33 years but does not know what happened to the bell.

He says in the 1980s the bell was prominently hanging between the two coral columns where it had been installed by Church Mission society more than 200 years ago in the late 1870s.

“In the 1980’s the bell was here. It was hanging there between the columns but sometimes in 1990, it disappeared. I do not know who took it,” Iddi adds.

But who could have stolen the copper bell which had been imported from England and had served a very important role in protecting the freed slaves, who lived in fear of being recaptured by the Arab Slave merchants who prowled along the Coast in search of people and ivory to sell?

National Museums of Kenya assistant Director Athman Hussein, who is the keeper of Antiques, Sites and Monument at the Coast confirms that the iconic bell was indeed stolen but adds a twist in this tale.

“There had been several attempts to steal the bell. Sometimes between 1987and 1988, thieves removed it but apparently it was too heavy and after they had unhooked it from the columns, they just dropped it and fled.”

Hussein says the bell which weighed about 300kg as it was made of pure copper, was collected from Kengeleni the following day and spirited off to Nairobi for safekeeping.

However to disorient the thieves, prospective scrap metal dealers and antique hunters, National Museums of Kenya, made a copy of the bell which was disguised as the 200 year plus piece and hung it at Kengeleni.

“The original bell is in Nairobi. However, even after hanging a replica of the bell, some thieves still came and stole it. I know there is no bell right now but we will make a copy and hang it at the place. Several casts have also been stolen,” Hussein explains.

Security issue

The story of the whereabouts  of the stolen bell, however gets more intriguing when we seek answers from the Anglican Church of Kenya, whose predecessors, the Church Mission Society had imported and installed it.

Habel Chambia, the Vicar General of Mombasa Diocese who has also been in charge at Emanuel ACK church the second oldest church in Kenya, which is just across the road from Kengeleni, offers an interesting aspect.

“We (church) have the original bell that was used to warn the slaves of impending attacks. The one that was stolen in Kengeleni was just a copy. It is a very precious item and we keep it is a secret custody because it might be stolen”

According to Chambia, the bell which once tolled to warn the slaves who had been freed from ships along Indian Ocean and offered refuge in Kengeleni is still in use and peals twice every Sunday.

He however can not reveal its location for this may attract unnecessary attention and invite undesirable visitors keen to appropriate this piece of history for themselves.

“If you want to hear the bell pealing we can do it now but do not ask me where its located. That is a security issue,” Chambia says.

This particular bell is important because it was for alerting slaves whenever ships of slave raiders were sighted at the port of Mombasa but after the abolition of slave trade in 1820s which was  secretly carried out for  the next 70 years, the bell had other uses.

“The bell was used to warn slaves of impending attack. Now that slave trade is no more, its used to call people for worship. Every Sunday, its peals can be heard within a radius of three kilometers. It tolls at 8am and 10 am. It is also rang when there are weddings and burial services,” the cleric explains.

Inside the church compound mounted up the ancient church which was constructed in 1879, a big bell painted in green is mounted. The church compound is heaviors are only lrt in after satisfying the haw keyed guard that  they are on a genuine mission and  that they have made prior booking.

According to Hussein, besides the bell, also stole are some canons installed by Germans at Witu when they captured Lamu in the First World War.

Although the historic Kengeleni grounds have been transformed by the daily users into one big open urinal, there are grand plans to restore the park to its former glory by the Mombasa County Government, which is planning to plant flowers, build a toilet and install lights.

Only after this restoration will the National Museums of Kenya move in to install yet another ‘fake’ bell between the coral columns. The locals are hopeful that the dilapidated  concrete benches whose seats have been eaten away by the sands of times will be rehabilitated.