Wonders of Sergoit Hills

By Barmoiben Kipkemoi Araap Korir First shared in The Wonders of Sergoit Hills Facebook group on 12 July 2026. How did Ndebele and Shona words end up as the names of places deep in Kalenjin land? Let us begin with Bayete. Bayete is a small shopping centre about three kilometres past Burnt Forest on your way to Eldoret. Bayete is not a Kalenjin word. It is of Southern African origin, a corruption of the Ndebele word Bayeti. Bayete is a royal salute that later became a form of greeting among the Boer settlers in this region. It is an interjection meaning “Hail,” the Zulu royal salute, also extended as an honour to prominent persons or high officials. The complete form is often rendered “Bayete weZulu” or “Bayete UyiZulu.” The greeting dates back more than 200 years, to the time when King Shaka Zulu, the founder of the Zulu Kingdom, was greeted by his subjects with the royal salute “Bayete!”, which translates as “Hail the King!” Zulu warriors on meeting would say, “All nations cry Bay...

By William Kiptoo First shared in The Wonders of Sergoit Hills Facebook group on 26 July 2025. "I grew up in Eldoret… at Muli Children's Home." That is what a Nairobi Uber driver told me recently, and in one sentence he reminded me of Eldoret's quiet legacy of compassion. Back in the day, Eldoret was not just about athletics. It was a lifeline for children with nowhere else to go. Homes such as Muli, Testimony Homes, Jesus is Lord Ministry and Bindura gave children food, shelter, music and education. The Story Behind Muli The home my driver spoke of is better known today as Mully Children's Family (MCF). Its founder, Charles Mulli (also written Mully), was born in 1949 at Kathithyamaa village in Kangundo, Machakos. Abandoned by his family as a small boy, he begged in the streets before walking to Nairobi in search of work. In 1970 he bought his first vehicle and started a public transport service between Eldoret and Nyaru, the beginning of the Mullyways busi...

 By Barmoiben Kipkeemoi Araap Korir  LORIEN How did this place get a Norwegian name? In the same vicinity as Bayete and Bindura is another non local name, Lorien So what is the origin and meaning of the name Lorien? To get an answer, we have to go a few miles across to a school called Arnenes Ole Christian Greiner Arnesen, after whom Arnesens School is named was a lumberjack in the region in the 1920s. He hauled massive logs from forests around and set up a sawmilling factory and named it Lorien Sawmillers. Lorien is the name of the three-masted sailing ship named "Loth Loriën" that brought Arnesen to Mombasa. The region later took the name. Lorien Saw Mills, became well known in colonial Kenya and beyond. In Norway cedar from Lorient Sawmillers fetched premium prices.