Wonders of Sergoit Hills

By William Kiptoo Back in the early 1900s, Afrikaners who settled in Uasin Gishu faced a big challenge - getting their language recognized. They wanted their children to be educated in Afrikaans, but the government only supported schools that taught in English. In 1910, a group of Afri`kaners asked the Governor to set up a school for their kids. The government did create two small schools, but they insisted on English-only teaching. This upset the Afrikaners, so Pastor Loubser, of Reformed Church, took matters into his own hands. He opened Afrikaans schools in Broederstroom and Sergoit, hiring two teachers from South Africa. Despite Loubser's efforts, the government didn't support his schools financially. Instead, they opened the Eldoret’s Central School in 1915, where only English was allowed. By 1918, Uasin Gishu had three types of schools for Europeans: English farm schools, the Eldoret Central School, and Afrikaans private schools. The Central School was mostly attended by ...

By William Kiptoo The v intage farmhouse below and the plunge cattle dip at Kaprobu, in Sergoit Ward in Moiben sub-county, originally belonged to a British settler known as JM Martins. The settler owned a 2,000 acres of land around the present-day Kaprobu and carried out large-scale farming activities during the colonial period. After Kenya gained independence in 1963, the land was transferred to Africans through a government land transfer program to settle the landless. Kaprobu derives its name from a Kalenjin word "robu," which translates to "distribute." During the early settlement of Uasin Gishu, some European settlers, who were farmers, are said to have faced financial constraints and were unable to pay their farm workers in cash. As a result, they resorted to distributing cereals as a form of payment for their labor. This practice led to the term "Chumbindet no robu" or that guy (mzungu/white settler) who distributes. Eventually it evolved into the...

Geography Lake Sergoit, or Charar Dam, is used interchangeably. The lake is a captivating body of water located in Moiben, Uasin Gishu County, Kenya. It has an elevation of 2,144 metres, with the coordinates: 0° 41′ 52″ N and 35° 24′ 41″ E. Nestled near the Katalir stream, which serves as its water source, and southwest of Kapkapai Farm, Charar, or Lake Sergoit, is surrounded by breathtaking scenery. The lake is also close to the localities of Viljoin (David Samoei’s estate) and Kazi Mingi (Tugen Estate) farms. Additionally, it shares its vicinity with Kapsubere and Sergoit Downs. A new establishment, Caesar’s Waterfront, has recently attracted visitors from near and far.   Photo: courtesy of Caesar’s Waterfront Resort, Moiben. History In the pre-colonial era, Lake Sergoit played an important role in the livelihood of the local Keiyo people, who also live in the neighboring Elgeyo Marakwet county. It served as a gathering place where they obtained “ng’enda,” or salt lick essential ...

Adopted from the an article in the Habari East Africa Eldoret was known in the early days of settlement as "64." In 1907, the then Postmaster-General, Mr. Gosling, made a safari to the Plateau to establish a post office and after touring the area and studying the position of the farms not yet taken up for development, he chose Farm 64 as a central place for a district post office. In the early days, with the exception of those places through which the Uganda railway passed, every settlement and out-station depended tor its mail upon the system of "runners". Many nations used postal runners to deliver mail to remote places. Starting from the principal stations on the railway the "runners" were posted, sometimes as much as thirty miles apart, and the mail was passed from relay to relay until it reached its destination. The Eldoret Panel shows the "runner" postman with his cleft stick in which the letters were carried, and his spear for protection a...

Compiled by William Kiptoo Source:  LOCHAB BROS is one of the big names among the pioneer settlers of Eldoret from India. They represent the various business of the family and signifies the strength and unity of the Joint family System to everyone. The unique system in the Lochabs is that they stay with their families under the same roof and eat together from the food of the same kitchen. Family history dates to 1887, when the pioneer, Late Mr Hira Singh Lochab came from Ishapur, Punjab, to make a fortune in Kenya. His son Late Mr Ghumand Singh Lochab joined the Marine Department of Kenya Railways. At that time, Kenya was the HQ of the East African Community, and it was difficult to get a technical job under the colonial system and by dint of his hard work and dedication, he rose to the position of 2nd Engineer, which was generally reserved for the Britishers. He worked for the Railways in Uganda and Kenya till 1939 and started a Sawmill in partnership at Kaptagat. In 1941, he came...