Wonders of Sergoit Hills

By William Kiptoo Today, I visited the home of the late Joseph Cheserem of Kapsengerut, whose story we recently featured as “The Grassroots Prophet Who Founded the Modern-Day Reformed Church of East Africa (RCEA).”   The home is strategically located along the busy Eldoret–Eldama Ravine Road, just past Naiberi and Straughburg, in Uasin Gishu County. It sits on a gentle rise known as Kapsengerut—literally, “the home of Sengerut.” The late Mzee Joseph Cheserem (Sengerut ) the humble farmworker whose faith and vision gave birth to RCEA WHO WAS SENGERUT?  In this quiet but spiritually vibrant homestead stands a church that Mzee Sengerut himself helped to establish in 1992. He donated the land for its construction, and next to it, a massive modern sanctuary is rising — a cathedral expected to hold close to 10,000 worshippers once complete. According to his family, this was Mzee’s vision: a house of worship that would draw people from near and far to praise God.  Just beside ...

By William Kiptoo Joseph Cheserem, popularly known as Sengerut , is regarded as the pioneer of the movement that led to the establishment of the Reformed Church of East Africa (RCEA) in Kenya. As a young boy, Cheserem worked on the farm of a former South African settler, Mr. A. J. Mouton, where he was first introduced to the gospel through his employer’s witness. A turning point came when he experienced a dramatic healing after a near-death illness — an event that deeply transformed his faith. Following this miracle, he gave his life to Christ and was baptized in 1953. After his conversion, Cheserem began evangelizing on local farms, passionately sharing the message of salvation. With the support of fellow believers, he persistently appealed to the Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk (NG Kerk) to send a full-time missionary to serve in the area. His efforts bore fruit with the arrival of Eerwaarde Eybers, marking the beginning of what would eventually become the Reformed Church of East Af...

  Author: William Kiptoo et al.   Abstract  Sergoit Hill, formerly known as Sergoit Rock, is a residual rock outcrop on the Uasin Gishu Plateau northeast of Eldoret, Kenya. This synthesis integrates regional geological mapping, geochronology literature, and local land use studies to present the phonolitic origin, morphology, and recent ecological trajectory of Sergoit Hill. Evidence supports emplacement of plateau-scale phonolite flows in Miocene times with protruding Basement System gneiss and quartzite inliers producing the residual outcrop. Human land use, grazing, fire, and later protection have driven vegetation change from sparse rock-dominated cover toward denser shrub and tree growth in protected areas. Recommendations for targeted field mapping, geochemical and geochronological sampling, and long-term ecological monitoring are provided.   1. Introduction Sergoit Hill is a prominent rock outcrop and local landmark on the Uasin Gishu Plateau northeast ...