Wonders of Sergoit Hills

By William Kiptoo  Source:  https://wwkiptoo.wordpress.com/2017/02/18/kruger-family-at-sergoit/  The Kruger family in Sergoit on the Moiben plateau, is a well-known farming family in Uasin Gishu County. They operate large-scale farming on their 5,000 acres of highly mechanized farms. Now in its fourth generation, the family engages in commercial farming of maize, wheat, barley, and dairy products, while also being avid conservationists. They utilize a range of machinery such as plowing tractors, combine harvesters, spraying machines, and road graders to maintain their farm. Reports suggest that the Kruger family produces around 4,000 tonnes of grain annually, equivalent to approximately 44,000 bags of maize. Their farm comprises 1,500 acres of barley, 2,000 acres of maize, and 1,000 acres of wheat. The remaining 100 acres are allocated for dairy farming, a residential compound, and a 110-kilometer graded road network. Moreover, the Krugers have a 1-kilometer airstrip on t...

A summary of a newspaper article shared in The Wonders of Sergoit Hills Facebook group by Hillary Kipruto under the title "Boers in Kenya". The article was first published by the Mail & Guardian of South Africa on 6 April 2004 as "A bittereinder in Kenya". Because it is a published newspaper article, it is summarised here rather than reproduced, and the full text can be read at the link at the end. The article set out to find what was left of the Afrikaner presence in Eldoret, the town the trekkers had once seen as the centre of their promised land. It recalled an Eldoret of the 1930s that could have been any small South African dorp, with jukskei played in the streets, koeksisters and melktert baked at home and braais under the acacia trees. By 2004, the writer found, only one family of Afrikaner descent remained in Uasin Gishu: the Krugers of Sergoit Farm, along the Kerio Valley Road. Local memory of the Boers still ran deep. Sarah Kurui, speaking inside the...

By Henry Kibiwott Chebii What comes to your mind when you hear the name Rock Farm? Mine thinks of a place full of rocks, and if you have ever been there you will agree that it is. People call it shamba la mawe , the farm of stones, because the land is rocky and rough. Rock Farm is the farm that surrounds Sergoit Rock (Tulwop Sirgoek) in Sergoit, Moiben sub-county, Uasin Gishu. Locally it is known as Chemanywes. This is my home, and its stones hold stories that many people have never heard. Rock Farm today, with the new structures of Rock Farm Primary School in the distance. Who First Owned Rock Farm? For many years, local residents and history enthusiasts tried to establish who first occupied this farm, and several answers went round. The earliest version I heard named a settler called Jordaan. Later, records of the settler period pointed to an Afrikaner, Hendrick Petrus Van Heerden, of the Van Rensburg trek, who arrived in Uasin Gishu in 1909 and took over Farm 17, then 3,276 acre...

By Henry Kibiwott Chebii Many of us began our childhood in what was simply called kambi at Kruger’s farm. There were three such camps. One stood where Chepngochoch School is today, now used as teachers’ quarters though the houses are old and worn out. Another was near Soin, close to where Jamii Milling Plant stands today, not far from the home of former Uasin Gishu Deputy Governor Eng. Barorot. The third camp was right inside Kruger farm itself. Living in these houses came with more than just shelter. Each family was given a small piece of land, usually half an acre to an acre, where they could grow maize and beans. The farm itself was tilled by the mzungu, so even if you were not hardworking, you would not go hungry. The Krugers had a way of rewarding their workers. During harvest season, maize was delivered to every homestead using their green Leyland lorry. Depending on your rank at work, you could receive as many as eight bags. Christmas was another season of generosity. Familie...

By William Kiptoo For most of the twentieth century, the land around Sergoit Hill was settler farmland. The first Afrikaner wagons reached the plateau in 1908, and the English hunter A. C. Hoey later wrote of watching them from the top of Sergoit Rock. For decades afterwards, the Kruger family farmed below the hill. In the last thirty years, that same land has been divided and put to new uses. Walking around the hill today, you can read that change in five places. A Sanctuary for Giraffes In 1995 the Kruger family set up a wildlife sanctuary on Sergoit Hill and brought in thirteen giraffes. It is managed with the Kenya Wildlife Service and the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife, and it is now home to Rothschild giraffes, a priority species for conservation, along with antelopes, duikers and many kinds of birds. On a plateau that once held herds of thousands, as Hoey described, this small sanctuary is one of the few places where wild animals still live ( read more about the wildlif...

By William Kiptoo   In 2011, Sergoit grabbed national headlines when plans for the Sergoit Golf and Wildlife Resort were unveiled. Marketed as a game-changing project, it was pitched as Kenya’s first true “sports city.” Investors promised a five-star hotel, championship golf courses, an athletics track to build on Eldoret’s reputation as the home of champions, a private airstrip, and luxury residential estates. Conservation was also part of the package, with a wildlife sanctuary integrated into the development.  The project generated enormous hype. Land prices in the area surged, and locals were told to expect jobs, infrastructure, and global attention. At the time, even rumors circulated that the Kruger family, long-time farmers around Sergoit, would exit Kenya after selling large tracts of land to developers. But more than a decade later, the dream has stalled. The grand masterplans and promotional pitches have given way to silence. No golf course, no hotel, no airstrip. Ins...

By William Kiptoo Kaptuli is a trading centre in Tembelio Ward, Moiben sub-county, Uasin Gishu. It sits along the Eldoret to Iten road, about 22 kilometres from Eldoret city. The name comes from the Tooley family, settlers who once owned the land around it. In Kalenjin, Kaptuli means “the home of Tooley.” The Tooley Farm The 1,500 acre Kaptuli farm was first owned by a European settler named Tom. It bordered the Kruger Farm to the north, Rock Farm to the west, Kaplogoi to the south and Cheburbur to the east. The farm later passed to Alfred Tooley. He and his family came to Kenya from South Africa in 1922. They first settled at Mau Summit, then moved to Koru and Fort Ternan, and finally made Sergoit their home. Their children included Martha Catherine, James Peter and Phyllis Polhill. Tragedy struck in 1966, when Mr Tooley and his wife died in a road accident on the Nakuru to Eldoret highway. After this, three of the remaining brothers sold the farm and left the country, one to So...

 By Henry Kibiwot Chebii Two weeks ago i had a chat with an old man from Moiben Junction,Mzee Suu who happened to have worked for Sir Albert Steyn of El-Farm. He told me the original owner of Kaptuli was a Mzungu known as Tom who happened to be father to Alfred Tooley. According to him Kap Kulunga is an African term that was used to refer to Krugers.Kap Kulunga farm actually belonged to one of Krugers. The present day Bishop Muge was inhabited by one Stephanus Petrus Kruger the grand father of current Kruger in Sergoit. He also told me that before independence El-farm wasn't as big as it is today.Koos Prinsloo of Kaplogoi and Mzungu at Rock Farm gave out their farms to Steyn family. JJ DU Toit was the last owner of El-farm before the then powerful minister Nicholas Biwott acquired the farm.JJ Du Toit had his farm machineries and he used to assist other Europeans till their farms.This was before Kenya attained independence.He used to roam from farm to farm in Uasin Gishu,Nandi and ...

By Henry Kibiwot Chebii The Rothschild Giraffes’ presence in Sergoit is indeed a testament to conservation efforts. The Rothschild Giraffe, known scientifically as Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi, is a subspecies of the Northern giraffe and is classified as Near Threatened. It’s one of the most endangered giraffe populations, with an estimated 1,399 mature individuals in the wild as of 20181. The Sergoit Wildlife Sanctuary plays a crucial role in preserving these majestic creatures. Established by the Kruger family, the sanctuary not only provides a haven for the Rothschild Giraffes but also for other species like Dikdiks, Antelopes, and Gazelles. The historical roaming of these giraffes across the Uasin Gishu plateau and their subsequent transfer to areas like Sergoit have been significant in preventing their decline. The Rothschild Giraffes are distinguished by their coat, which has broader dividing white lines and lacks spotting beneath the knees, giving them the appearance of we...

  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 ...