The Kikuyu (also Agékà ©yà ©/ Gékà ©yà ©) are a Bantu ethnic group native to Central Kenya, and originated in West-Central Africa. They are native to Central Kenya and were part of the Thagicu group that settled around Mount Kenya and primarily inhabit the fertile central highlands of Kenya. Traditionally, the Kikuyu community was organized into nine clans Anjirà ©, Ambà ©i, Agacikà ©, and Aceera, among others. At a population of 8,148,668 as of the 2019 census, they account for ~17.13% of the total population of Kenya, making them the country's largest ethnic group.
The term Kikuyu is the Swahili borrowing of the autonym ().
The Kikuyu belong to the Northeastern Bantu branch. The exact place that they migrated from after the initial Bantu expansion is uncertain. Their ancestors were part of the wider Bantu migration which originated in the region of West-Central Africa (modern-day Cameroon/Nigeria) and passed through the Congo Basin, a major dispersal corridor. While linguistically Bantu, these groups show significant genetic and cultural interaction with neighbouring Nilotic and Cushitic populations. Studies have observed Nilotic ancestry in Kikuyu individuals ranging from approximately 20-25% with Cushitic ancestry reaching approximately 32-36%. This is largely due to their geographic location in the central highlands, surrounded by diverse ethnic clusters.
Their ancestors part of a broader group known as the Thagicu first reaching the northern slopes of Mount Kenya around the 3rd century CE. By the 13th century, they had established a cultural core in the highlands around Murang'a. A major southward migration into present-day Kiambu followed during the 18th and 19th centuries, a process characterized by land acquisition and intermarriage with indigenous hunter-gatherer groups.
Their language is most closely related to that of the Embu and Mbeere. Geographically, they are concentrated in the vicinity of Mount Kenya.
Before the establishment of East Africa Protectorate in 1895, the Agékà ©yà © preserved geographic and political power from almost all external influence for many generation as they had never been subdued. Before the arrival of the British, Arabs involved in slave trading and their caravans passed at the southern edges of the Agékà ©yà © nation. Slavery as an institution did not exist amongst the Agékà ©yà ©, nor did they make raids for the capture of slaves. The Arabs who tried to venture into Agékà ©yà © land met instant death. Relying on a combination of land purchases, blood-brotherhood (partnerships), intermarriage with other people, and their adoption and absorption, the Agékà ©yà © were in a constant state of territorial expansion. Economically, the Agékà ©yà © were great farmers and shrewd businesspeople. Besides farming and business, the Agékà ©yà © were involved in small scale industries with professions such as bridge building, string making, wire drawing, and iron chain making. The Agékà ©yà © had a great sense of justice (kéhooto).
The Kikuyu community was divided into nine clans. These nine clans are the Anjirà ©, Agacikà ©, Ambà ©i, Angà ©i aka Aithiegeni, Angechi aka Aithérandà ©, Aacera, Ambura aka AakÃ©à ©rà © or Eethaga, Airimà © aka Agathiigia, Angaré aka Aithekahuno and Aicakamà ©yà © and all clans and families emanate from them perpetually, through patriarchy. Each clan traced its lineage to a single female ancestor and a daughter of Mumbi. The clans were not restricted to any particular geographical area, they lived side by side. Some clans had a recognized leader, others did not. However, in either case, real political power was exercised by the ruling council of elders for each clan. Each clan then forwarded the leader of its council to the apex council of elders for the whole community. The overall council of elders representing all the clans was then led by a headman or the nation's spokesman.
The Gékà ©yà © were â and still are â Animists believing in the veneration of ancestors, spiritual entities, a distant High God whom they refer to as Ngai, and other supernatural beings. A complex animistic system including the beliefs in spirits and higher and lower gods, sometimes including a supreme being, as well as the veneration of the dead, use of magic, and traditional African medicine, is broadly shared with other African religions.
All of the Gékà ©yà ©, Embu, and Kamba use the name Ngai to refer to a supremer being, the distant creation force who represents the head of the spiritual world and represents the first ancestor and creator of Gékà ©yà © society. Ngai was also known as Mà ©rungu by the Meru and Embu tribes, or Mà ©lungu. The title Mwathani or Mwathi (the greatest ruler) comes from the word gwatha meaning to rule or reign with authority, was and is still used. All sacrifices to Ngai were performed under a sycamore tree (Mà ©kà ©yà ©) and if one was not available, a fig tree (Mà ©gumo) would be used. The olive tree (Mà ©tamaiyà ©) was a sacred tree for women.
In Gékà ©yà © tradition, Ngai (also known as Mwene-Nyaga) is identified as the creator and the source of all natural resources and provides all the resources necessary for life: land, rain, plants, and animals. While described as invisible, Ngai is believed to manifest through celestial bodies and natural phenomena such as thunder, lightning, rainbows, comets and meteors, and in the great fig trees (Mugumo). The Mugumo (fig tree) is regarded as a sacred site for worship and sacrifice, specifically marking Mà ©kà ©rwe Wa Nyagathanga, the site where oral legend maintains the ancestors Gékà ©yà © and Mà ©mbi first settled. Ngai has human characteristics, and although some say that he lives in the sky or in the clouds, Gékà ©yà © lore also says that Ngai comes to earth from time to time to inspect it, bestow blessings, and mete out punishment. In Gékà ©yà © tradition, Mount Kenya is a site of central spiritual significance and divine manifestation.
Historical and linguistic evidence also indicates that some parts of Mount Kenya region have been home to various communities over millennia, including Nilotic, Cushitic, and ancient hunter-gatherer groupsâÂÂsuch as the Ogiek and those referred to in oral history as the Gumba. The Gékà ©yà ©, a Bantu-speaking group, established their presence in the central highlands through a long-term process of migration, interaction, and cultural exchange with these established populations. Today, the mountain remains a shared sacred landmark for several ethnic groups, each maintaining distinct cultural and religious associations with the site.
The cardinal points in this Traditional Gékà ©yà © Religion Philosophy were squarely based on the general Bantu peoples thought as follows:
Traditional Gékà ©yà © ontology is rooted in the belief that the universe is interconnected through a spiritual "vital force." In this worldview, all physical existence possesses an inner spiritual energy, leading to a philosophical framework where "being" is synonymous with "force." This energy is attributed to the creator deity Ngai (or Mà ©gai), who is viewed as both the source of the universe and an immanent presence within it. Gékà ©yà © tradition maintains a spiritual hierarchy based on the proximity of this force to the creator: the first parents are held in the highest venerationâÂÂoften as deitiesâÂÂfollowed by ancestral spirits, and finally the community elders, who mediate sacrifices and rites. This lineage creates a spiritual chain connecting the living, particularly children, to Ngai through their ancestors. Furthermore, the Gékà ©yà © believe in the cyclical nature of life, where the spirits of the departed may be reborn into the world, a concept reinforced through specific naming ceremonies and rites of passage.
The Agékà ©yà © had four seasons and two harvests in one year.
In Gékà ©yà © society, time was historically documented through the system of initiation sets (riika). Each group undergoing circumcision was assigned a unique name, which served as a record of contemporary events, such as the appearance of diseases like smallpox or syphilis. According to historian Godfrey Mà ©rià ©ki, these individual sets were organized into larger "regiment" or "army" sets. The timing of these initiations followed specific regional cycles:
While initiation for girls occurred annually, their specific group names are less documented in academic literature; however, Mà ©rià ©ki identifies several late 19th-century sets from Metumi and Kabete, including Rà ©haro (1894) and Kagica (1896).
These regiments combined to form a ruling generation (itwéka), which lasted an average of 35 years. While the names of individual initiation sets varied across Gékà ©yà © land, the ruling generations remained uniform, providing a standardized chronological framework for Gékà ©yà © history.
Mathew Njoroge Kabetà ©'s list reads, Tene, Kéyé, Aagu, Ciéra, Mathathi, Ndemi, Iregi, Maina (Ngotho), Mwangi. Gakaara wa Wanjaà ©'s list reads Tene, Nema Thé, Kariraà ©, Aagu, Tiru, Cuma, Ciira, Ndemi, Mathathi, Iregi, Maina, Mwangi, Irà ©ngà ©, Mwangi wa Mandà ©ti. The last two generations came after 1900. One of the earliest recorded lists by McGregor reads (list taken from a history of unchanged) Manjiri, Mandà ©ti, Chiera, Masai, Mathathi, Ndemi, Iregi, Maina, Mwangi, Mà ©irà ©ngà ©. According to Hobley (a historian) each initiation generation, riika, extended over two years. The ruling generation at the arrival of the Europeans was called Maina. It is said that Maina handed over to Mwangi in 1898. Hobley asserts that the following sets were grouped under Maina â Kénà ©thia, Karanja, Njà ©gà ©na, Kényanjui, Gathuru and Ng'ang'a. Professor Mà ©rià ©ki however puts these sets much earlier, namely Karanja and Kénà ©thia belong to the Ciira ruling generation which ruled from the year 1722 to 1756, give or take 25 years, according to Mà ©rià ©ki. Njà ©gà ©na, Kényanjui, Ng'ang'a belong to the Mathathi ruling generation that ruled from 1757 to 1791, give or take 20 years, according to Mà ©rià ©ki.
Professor Mà ©rià ©ki's list must be given precedence in this area as he conducted extensive research in this area starting 1969, and had the benefit of all earlier literature on the subject as well as doing extensive field work in the areas of Gaki (Nyeri), Metumi (Mà ©rang'a) and Kabete (Kéambu). On top of the ruling generations, he also gives names of the regiments or army sets from 1659 [within a margin of error] and the names of annual initiation sets beginning 1864. The list from Metumi (Mà ©rang'a) is most complete and differentiated.
Mà ©rià ©ki's is also the most systematically defined list so far. Most of the most popular male names in Gékà ©yà © land were names of riikas (initiation sets). Here is Mà ©rià ©ki's list of the names of regiment sets in Metumi (Mà ©rang'a): Kiarié (1665âÂÂ1673), Cege (1678âÂÂ1678), Kamau (1704âÂÂ1712), Kémani (1717âÂÂ1725), Karanja (1730âÂÂ1738), Kénà ©thia (1743âÂÂ1751), Njà ©gà ©na (1756âÂÂ1764), Kényanjui (1769âÂÂ1777), Ng'ang'a (1781âÂÂ1789), Njoroge (1794âÂÂ1802), Wainaina (1807âÂÂ1815), Kang'ethe (1820âÂÂ1828), Mbà ©gua (1859âÂÂ1867), Njenga or Mbéra Itimà © (1872âÂÂ1880), Mà ©tà ©ng'à © or Mbà ©rà © (1885âÂÂ1893).
H.E. Lambert, who dealt with the riikas extensively, has the following list of regiment sets from Gichà ©gà © and Ndia. (It should be remembered that this names were unlike ruling generations not uniform in Gékà ©yà © land. It should also be noted that Ndia and Gachà ©gà © followed a system where initiation took place every annually for four years and then a period of nine calendar years followed where no initiation of boys took place. This period was referred to as mà ©hingo.) Karanja (1759âÂÂ1762), Kénà ©thia (1772âÂÂ1775), Ndà ©réré (1785âÂÂ1788), Mà ©gacho (1798âÂÂ1801), Njoroge (1811âÂÂ1814), Kang'ethe (1824âÂÂ1827), Gitaà © (1837âÂÂ1840), Manyaki (1850âÂÂ1853), Kiambà ©thi (1863âÂÂ1866), Watuke (1876âÂÂ1879), Ngà ©gé (1889âÂÂ1892), Wakanene (1902âÂÂ1905).
The remarkable thing in this list in comparison to the Metumi one is how some of the same names are used, if a bit offset. Ndia and Gachà ©gà © are extremely far from Metumi. Gaki on the other hand, as far as my geographical understanding of Gékà ©yà © land is concerned should be much closer to Metumi, yet virtually no names of regiment sets are shared. It should however be noted that Gaki had a strong connection to the Maasai living nearby.
The ruling generation names of Maina and Mwangi are also very popular male Gékà ©yà © names. The theory is also that Waciira is also derived from ciira (case), which is also a very popular masculine name among the Agékà ©yà ©. This would call into question, when it was exactly that children started being named after the parents of one's parents. Had that system, of naming one's children after one's parents been there from the beginning, there would be very few male names in circulation. This is however not the case, as there are very many Gékà ©yà © male names. One theory is that the female names are much less, with the names of the full-nine daughters of Mà ©mbi being most prevalent.
Gakaara wa Wanjaà © supports this view when he writes in his book, Méhéréga ya Aagékà ©yà ©,
Hingo éyo ciana cia arà ©me ciatuagwo maréétwa ma mariika ta Watene, Cuma, Iregi kana Ciira. Nao airéétu magatuuo maréétwa ma méhéréga tauria hagwetetwo nah au kabere, o nginya hingo iria maundu maatabariirwo thuuthaini ati ciana ituagwo aciari a mwanake na a muiréétu.
Freely translated it means "In those days the male children were given the names of the riika (initiation set) like Watene, Cuma, Iregi, or Ciira. Girls were on the other hand named after the clans that were named earlier until such a time as it was decided to name the children after the parents of the man and the woman." From this statement it is not clear whether the girls were named ad hoc after any clan, no matter what clan the parents belonged to. Naming them after the specific clan that the parents belonged to would have severely restricted naming options.
This would strangely mean that the female names are the oldest in Gékà ©yà © land, further confirming its matrilineal descent. As far as male names are concerned, there is of course the chicken and the egg question, of when a name specifically appeared but some names are tied to events that happened during the initiation. For example, Wainaina refers to those who shivered during circumcision. Kà ©inaina (to shake or to shiver).
There was a very important ceremony known as Ituéka in which the old guard would hand over the reins of government to the next generation. This was to avoid dictatorship. Kenyatta related how once, in the land of the Agékà ©yà ©, there ruled a despotic King called Gékà ©yà ©, grandson of the elder daughter (Wanjirà © according to Leakey) of the original Gékà ©yà © of Gékà ©yà © and Mà ©mbi fame. After he was deposed, it was decided that the government should be democratic, which is how the Ituéka came to be. This legend of course calls into question exactly when it was that the matrilineal rule set in. The last Ituéka ceremony, where the riika of Maina handed over power to the Mwangi generation, took place in 1898âÂÂ9. The next one was supposed to be held in 1925âÂÂ1928 [Kenyatta] but was thwarted by the colonial imperialist government and one by one Gékà ©yà © institutions crumbled.
The ruling generations, the rééka system can be traced back to the year 1500 AD or thereabouts. These were:
The last Ituéka ceremony where the rééka of Maina handed over power to the Mwangi generation, took place in 1898âÂÂ1899. The next one was supposed to be held in 1925âÂÂ1928 but was thwarted by the colonial government. The traditional symbols of power among the Agikuyu nation is the Muthégi (Stick) which signifies power to lead and the Itimà © (Spear) signifying power to call people to war.
The traditional way of life of Agikuyu was disrupted when they came into contact with the British around 1888. British explorers had visited the region prior the "Scramble for Africa", and now various individuals moved to establish a colony in the region, noting the abundant and fertile farmland. Although initially non-hostile, relationships between the Agikuyu and the Europeans soon turned violent: Waiyaki Wa Hinga, a leader of the southern Agikuyu, who ruled Dagoretti who had signed a treaty with Frederick Lugard of the British East Africa Company (BEAC) burned down Lugard's fort in 1890. Waiyaki was captured two years later by the company and buried alive in revenge.
Following severe financial difficulties of the British East Africa Company, the British government on 1 July 1895 established direct Crown rule through the East African Protectorate, subsequently opening in 1902 the fertile highlands to European emigrants. The Agikuyu, upset at the waves of emigrants, enforced a policy of killing any of their own that collaborated with the colonial government. When disputes with white settlers and the Agikuyu became violent (usually over land issues), the settlers would employ Maasai tribesmen together with some colonial troops to carry out their fighting for them. The Maasai had historically negative relations with the Agikuyu, and thus were willing to take up arms against them. The various conflicts between the settlers and the Agikuyu often resulted in defeat for the latter, thanks to their inferior weaponry. The Agikuyu, having been unsuccessful in their conflicts with the European settlers and the colonial government, turned to political means as a method of resolving their grievances.
Kenya served as a base for the British in the First World War as part of their effort to capture the German colonies to the south, which were initially frustrated. At the outbreak of war in August 1914, the governors of British East Africa (as the Protectorate was generally known) and German East Africa agreed to a truce in an attempt to keep the young colonies out of direct hostilities. However, Lt. Col Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck took command of the German military forces, determined to tie down as many British resources as possible. Completely cut off from Germany, von Lettow conducted an effective guerrilla warfare campaign, living off the land, capturing British supplies, and remaining undefeated. He eventually surrendered in Zambia eleven days after the Armistice was signed in 1918. To chase von Lettow-Vorbeck, the British deployed Indian Army troops from India and then needed large numbers of porters to overcome the formidable logistics of transporting supplies far into the interior by foot. The Carrier Corps was formed and ultimately mobilised over 400,000 Africans, contributing to their long-term politicisation.
The experiences gained by Africans in the war, coupled with the creation of the white-dominated Kenya Crown Colony, gave rise to considerable political activity in the 1920s which culminated in Archdeacon Owen's "Piny Owacho" (Voice of the People) movement and the "Young Kikuyu Association" (renamed the "East African Association") started in 1921 by Harry Thuku (1895âÂÂ1970), which gave a sense of nationalism to many Kikuyu and advocated civil disobedience. Thuku's campaign against the colonial government was short-lived. He was exiled to Kismayu the following year, and it was not until 1924 that the Kikuyu Central Association (KCA) was formed to carry on with Thuku's campaign. From 1924, the Kikuyu Central Association (KCA), with Jomo Kenyatta as its Secretary General focused on unifying the Kikuyu into one geographic polity, but its project was undermined by controversies over ritual tribute, land allocation, the ban on female circumcision, and support for Thuku. The KCA sent Kenyatta to England in 1924 and again in 1931 to air their grievances against the colonial government and its policies.
By the 1930s, approximately 30,000 white settlers lived in Agikuyu country and gained a political voice because of their contribution to the market economy. The area was already home to over a million members of the Kikuyu nation, most of whom had been pushed off their land by the encroaching European settlers, and lived as itinerant farmers. To protect their interests, the settlers banned the production of coffee, introduced a hut tax, and landless workers were granted less and less land in exchange for their labour. A massive exodus to the cities ensued as their ability to provide a living from the land dwindled.
In the Second World War (1939âÂÂ45) Kenya became an important military base. For the Agikuyu soldiers who took part in the war as part of the King's African Rifles (KAR), the war stimulated African nationalism and shattered their conceptions of Europeans. Meanwhile, on the political front, in 1944 Thuku founded and was first chairman of the multi-ethnic Kenya African Study Union (KASU).
In 1946 KASU became the Kenya African Union (KAU). It was a nationalist organisation that demanded access to white-owned land. KAU acted as a constituency association for the first black member of Kenya's legislative council, Eliud Mathu, who had been nominated in 1944 by the governor after consulting with the local Bantu/Nilotic elite. The KAU remained dominated by the Kikuyu ethnic group. In 1947 Jomo Kenyatta, the former president of the moderate Kikuyu Central Association, became president of the more aggressive KAU to demand a greater political voice for the native inhabitants. The failure of the KAU to attain any significant reforms or redress of grievances from the colonial authorities shifted the political initiative to younger and more militant figures within the African trade union movement, among the squatters on the settler estates in the Rift Valley and in KAU branches in Nairobi and the Kikuyu districts of central province.
By 1952, under Field Marshal Dedan Kimathi, the Kenya Land and Freedom Army (Mau Mau) launched an all-out revolt against the colonial government, the settlers and their Kenyan allies. By this time, the Mau Mau were fighting for complete independence of Kenya. The war is considered by some the gravest crisis of Britain's African colonies The capture of rebel leader Dedan Kimathi on 21 October 1956 signalled the ultimate defeat of the Mau Mau Uprising, and essentially ended the military campaign although the state of emergency would last until 1959. The conflict arguably set the stage for Kenyan independence in December 1963.
Following Kenya's independence from British colonial rule in 1963 and the subsequent establishment of the Republic, the Gékà ©yà © became a prominent ethnic group within the modern Kenyan state.
Gékà ©yà ©s speak the Gékà ©yà © language as their native tongue, which is a member of the Bantu language family. Additionally, many speak Swahili and English as lingua franca, the two official languages of Kenya.
The Gékà ©yà © are closely related to some Bantu communities due to intermarriages prior to colonization. These communities are the Embu, Meru, and Akamba people who also live around Mt. Kenya. Members of the Gékà ©yà © family from the greater Kiambu (commonly referred to as the Kabete) and Nyeri counties are closely related to the Maasai people also due to intermarriage prior to colonization. The Gékà ©yà © people between Thika and Mbeere are closely related to the Kamba people as part of the Central Bantu migration from the Congo Basin region of Central Africa. As a result, the Gékà ©yà © people that retain much of the original Gékà ©yà © heritage reside around Kirinyaga and Murang'a regions of Kenya. Murang'a county is considered by many to be the cradle of the Gékà ©yà © people.
Until 1888, the Agikuyu literature was purely expressed in folklore. Famous stories include The Maiden Who Was Sacrificed By Her Kin, The Lost Sister, The Four Young Warriors, The Girl who Cut the Hair of the N'jenge, and many more.
When the European missionaries arrived in the Agikuyu country in 1888, they learned the Kikuyu language and started writing it using a modified Roman alphabet. The Kikuyu responded strongly to missionaries and European education. They had greater access to education and opportunities for involvement in the new money economy and political changes in their country. As a consequence, there are notable Kikuyu literature icons such as Ngà ©gé wa Thiong'o and Meja Mwangi. Ngà ©gé wa Thiong'o's literary works include Caitaani mà ©tharaba-Iné (1981), Matigari (1986) and Murogi wa Kagogo (2006), which is the largest known Kikuyu-language novel, having been translated into more than thirty languages.
Traditional Kikuyu music has existed for generations up to 1888, when colonialism disrupted their life. Before 1888 and well into the 1920s, Kikuyu music included Kibaata, Nduumo and Muthunguci. Cultural loss increased as urbanization and modernization impacted on indigenous knowledge, including the ability to play the mà ©tà ©rérà © â an oblique bark flute. Today, music and dance are strong components of Kikuyu culture. There is a vigorous Kikuyu recording industry, for both secular and gospel music, in their pentatonic scale and western music styles such as "Mathwiti Maigi Ngai!".
Kikuyu cinema and film production are a very recent phenomenon among the Agikuyu. They have become popular only in the 21st century. In the 20th century, most of the Agikuyu consumed cinema and film produced in the west. Popular Kikuyu film productions include comedies such as Machang'i series and Kihenjo series. Recently, Kenyan television channels have increased greatly and there are channels that broadcast programs in the Kikuyu language.
Typical Agékà ©yà © food includes Yams, sweet potatoes, Gëtheri (maize and beans, after corn was introduced to Africa), Mà «kimo (mashed green peas and potatoes), Këmità « (mashed beans and potatoes), Irio (mashed dry beans, corn and potatoes), Mà «tura (sausage made using goat intestines, meat and blood), à ªcà «rà « (fermented porridge made from flour of corn, millet or sorghum) roast goat, beef, chicken and cooked green vegetables such as collards, spinach and carrots.
Although Gékà ©yà ©s historically adhered to indigenous faiths, most are Christians today, of varying denominations, as well as various syncretic forms of Christianity. A minority of the Kikuyu practice Islam, notably through Arab, Indian and Persian missionaries since trade with the rest of East Africa.
A small group of Kékà ©yà ©, numbering about 60 people in 2015, practice Judaism in the town of Kusuku. While they practice a normative form of Judaism (similar to Conservative Judaism), they are not a recognized part of any larger Jewish group.
In April 2018, the Presbyterian Church of East Africa made a resolution to prohibit its members from the Kikuyu cultural rite known as Mburi cia Kiama and this triggered disturbances among devotees in the region of Mount Kenya. The Mburi cia Kiama entails the slaughtering of goats and advising men on how to become respected elders. When this process is over, they join different kiamas (groups). It is in these groups that they are given advice on issues like marriage, the Kikuyu culture and community responsibilities. Members of the church were given the ultimatum to renounce the cultural practice or to leave the church's fold.
Gikuyu have also been in sports, taking part in multiple fetes. GEMA United Football Club was founded to unite communities from the Gikuyu, Embu, and Meru ethnic groups, and is believed to have fostered local football talent in earlier decades. In athletics, figures such as Catherine Ndereba are recognized internationally; Ndereba is among the world's top female marathoners, with multiple major wins to her credit. John Ngà ©gé the athletics ace, cross country dominance in the 1980s made him one of Kenya's most celebrated runners in that discipline. Olympic legend and first Kenyan to win Olympic marathon gold medalist Samuel Wanjiru, whose marathon gold at Beijing 2008 stunned the world, it have inspired a new generation of runners. Margaret Nyairera has, brought further glory to Kenyan athletics as a world-class 800m runner, winning medals on the international stage. Douglas Wakéhà ©ré made history as becoming the first Kenyan to win the marathon gold at the World Championships in 1987, setting a precedent for future marathoners. Kenya international Stephene Warà ©rà © is recognized in local football circlesin local league clubs and Kenya harambe stars.
Agikuyu sports personalities;