History Tag Archive

The Savage Mutilation of Piah Njoki, and her Incredible Spirit

At daybreak on November 4th, 1983, a scream cut through the serenity of Kiaga Village in Kirinyaga. The single scream quickly became cries for help, then wailing of what now sounded like a large group of people. What sounded like the cries of pain of a dying woman would lead residents of the small village …

Features • Quick Reads|

Read More

The Brutal Unsolved Murder of Lucy Kabura

The hot and humid coastal air constricted into the Tangana Lodge’s dimly lit and badly ventilated rooms . The fragrance of purchased romance reigned over the humid evening air in the house of decadence. As the night came to a climax, the sounds of illicit sex, the loud banging on the walls, the rehearsed screams, …

Features • Morbid|

Read More

7 Badass Heroes from Around the World

Badass has no passport. It has no rules. When badass finds you and hands you a titanium pair of the sac, you cant say no. Badass does not take no for an answer. You don’t choose badass, badass finds you. It asks nothing of you but to go completely berserk and show Death the middle …

Listicles|

Read More

When the Mau Mau Used a Biological Weapon

Sometime in late 1952, a series of mysterious deaths occurred at a mission station in Kikuyu, Kenya. First, the victims, a herd of cows, developed large swellings near the forelegs. The swelling then spread over the course of several days, across the chest and abdomen. Then one after the other, the steeds fell and died.

Quick Reads|

Read More

When a Mozambican Woman Gave Birth in a Tree

At the start of the new millennium, Mozambique found itself pounded by weeks of excess rainfall and a series of disasters.

Features|

Read More

7 Most Brutal African Serial Killers

Human society has always had psychopaths, and Africa has been no exception to the seeming rise of serial murders. Some remain unsolved, their perpetrators walking among an unsuspecting population. The most terrifying thing is that two of the members of this list used the guise of job interviews to trick their would-be victims, with one …

Listicles|

Read More

In McMillan’s Underbelly: The Quest for Kenya’s History

This piece was originally published on the Medium Blog here.  I hadn’t planned to spend my entire afternoon like this. At least not at first. I was in town, with a few hours to kill and I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them. I always know, but I never get round to …

Features • Profiles|

Read More

7 Greatest Art Heists in Kenya’s History

From a sadistic point of view, a culture’s art comes of age when it is worth stealing. Some pilfer, some plunder, others loot, and yet others pluck artifacts from graves. 

Listicles|

Read More

7 Kenyan Wild Animals that Became Global Celebrities

Animals can be celebrities too, all the while dressed in nothing but fur or a hide. There’s nothing like turning up on the red carpet with nothing but scales. 

Listicles|

Read More