By Ogova Ondego
Published August 2, 2023
Whatever your favourite art form, Mathemboni Arts Centre on the eastern outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, is likely to offer it to you.
Mathemboni (shrines in kiKamba) is the seat of The Centre for African Aesthetics, Neterian African Worship and African Comb Books that all focus on lifestyle and the arts.
The brainchild of writer David G Maillu who also paints, sculpts, acts, sings, models and designs and builds houses, the 10-acre Mathemboni boasts thought-provoking paintings, sculptures, collages, books, nature-inspired utilitarian architecture and a botanical garden not to mention various monuments, a shrine of African spirituality and a botanical garden.
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As one enters the centre in Koola Village, one is welcomed by images of African masks made from scrap metal on the gate. A short distance away sits a set of seats and a table made of natural stone.
Adjacent to the seats and facing the Colonial statue is a giant statue of a woman made out of concrete. This is Syokimau, the legendary Kamba healer and prophetess who is credited with predicting the coming of Europeans to Kenya and the building of the Kenya-Uganda Railway line from Mombasa.
Near this is an installation of MWANKHA, a shrine dedicated to African Spirituality. Above the installation flies a black, red and white flag and below it is a metallic sculpture of an ankh or symbol of life in African religion. The black stands for Africans, red the manner in which they are born and the white their first food after birth.
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A short distance away stands another installation with seven European flags atop it and a concrete animal hide spread out to dry below it. This is the monument dedicated to the subjugation of Africa by Britain, France, Germany, Portugal, Italy, Belgium and Spain. These are the colonial powers that ruled over Africa and whose influence continue to hold sway across the continent. This is the colonial/neo-colonial monument that is accompanied by a framed giant collage that complements it.
As if the colonial and neo-colonial monument isn’t enough, there is also a monument called Shithole that is dedicated to Donald J Trump, the 45th President of the United States of America who in 2018 referred to African countiries and Haiti as ‘shithole’ countries. Indeed, the hind side of the statue is a toilet or shithole. The statue is just a torso whose head is yet to be fixed on it.
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Besides utilitarian art (seats, tables, statues) is nature-inspired architecture that is attracting lots of attention among professionals of the built environment around the world. Almost every building on the 10-acre plot is inspired by nature and one may easily fail to see some structures as they jut out of the ground or resemble caves hewn out of hills and anthills.
A whole section measuring more than an acre is a shrine where any one intending to pray, meditate or just do soul-searching may may find space and tranquility for concentration. The site, once complete, will have an open amphitheatre to allow users to do their activities as the sun or the moon and stars shine. The area has some trees that are considered to be sacred among many African societies.
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Though this could easily pass for the largest botanic garden in Nairobi, the various trees, shrubs and herbs planted on it are yet to be marked with both their common and scientific names.
Also on site of the Mathemboni Arts Centre are monuments dedicated to David Maillu’s mother and wife who have both passed away.
Yes, Mathemboni Arts Cente, that lies just some two hours away from the bustle and hustle of Nairobi City, is not just a suitable weekend getaway venue but could also be used for conferences, seminars, performances and exhibitions.
The place that is designed, built and owned by Maillu, also boasts a book museum that Maillu is particularly proud of.
A visit to this book museum or archive accords you the rare opportunity to leaf through all the books written by Maillu is consiered to be Kenya’s father of polar literature.
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A room that can accommodate up to 150 conference delegates sits on the first floor of the house, giving you an eye-pleasing view of the scattered trees, shrubs and herbs growing naturally on semi arid red soil. This is welcome relief from the monotony of the environment-assaulting concrete, steel and glassy skyscrapers of Nairobi.
The maisonette that is built of natural stone also has smaller rooms that could accommodate 15 – 20 people.
But why am I telling you all this?
Perhaps you should consider travelling to Mathemboni on August 5, 2023 to attend the inaugural public lecture on witchcraft by David Maillu and to have a look at the centre as the lecture also offers you a cultural tour of the centre.
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“From my long scholarly research across Africa, I have come up with amazing revelations that I wish to share with society,” Maillu says of his lecture. “The information I have unearthed is crucial for people involved in social matters and in community development. It is invaluable information for people interested in medicine and in the dimensions and depths of African cultures. The lecture is a move to debunk prejudices against the subject. I can say, without any single doubt, that you can’t understand what the psychology of the African is until you have understood what witchcraft is!”
