In September of 2000, the Mungiki tried to burn this building with 4 jerricans of petrol. They never made it past the gate, as they were beaten back by riot cops with batons and teargas
The Mungiki said that they were "...targeting a snake which is fed on human blood from kidnapped children." It was just one of several anti-Mason protests in the city, triggered (and pushed) by a church-led hysteria that started in the early '90s.
One of the recommendations of the Devil Worship Commission of 1994, which was eventually made public in 1999, was to investigate the Freemasons (well...and the Mormons, and matatu culture, and just about anything else the churches didn't agree with or sponsor).
Funny enough, the Freemasons Hall on Nyerere Road, opposite Serena, was built in 1935 by the same architects and masons who built All Saints Cathedral (originally called Cathedral of the Highlands) opposite the road.
That's partially because one of the fundamental requirements to be a Mason is to believe in a deity. They only accept men who believe in a creator and actively practice a religion.
But even atheists weren't safe in Kenya at the time, as was the case with Richard Leakey.
The first people to try start a Masonic Lodge in Nairobi were the men who built the railway, but they were not high enough in the ranks to be allowed to.
The White House, and it's Lodge, were burnt down in 1905 as a measure against the bubonic plague.
The 2nd Masonic Lodge was built almost immediately after where Central Bank stands today.
Most of the men who designed and built Nairobi's iconic buildings, including most houses of government, Nairobi and Jamhuri High School were Masons.
After independence (and even before), several of our black elites were invited to the organisation.
By the early '90s, Moi was seeking a new enemy and the churches gave him one. There was widespread hysteria of kidnappings, sacrifices, ritual rapes and crimes. Any organisation not openly affiliated to a church found itself in the crosshairs of this hysteria.
At around the same time, (Kisumu politician) Joab Omino made the mistake of telling Scotland Yard detectives investigating Ouko's murder that he was a Mason.
When he died in 2004, the church refused to bury him or even host his funeral ceremony at All Saints.
Because the Masons were a secretive organisation of rich and powerful men, it found itself the enemy of the people, triggering protests by Mungiki, churches, and even editorials.
All most seemed to take out of the commission report was a need to investigate the Masons.
There's some truth to this, that the Masonic ideals of brotherhood (and secrecy) have hurt our fight against corruption and well, how people usually get rich and stay out of jail in Kenya.
One was the case of Justice A.B Shah.
Justice Shah was an accomplished judge with a litany of integrity issues. But the case that did him was connected to the brotherhood. He had helped his fellow Mason draft a replying affidavit in a case where Shah was the judge.
There was evidence of some form of payment as well
In the hysteria of the early 2000s, some churches took out ads in the papers against the Masons, and declared public war.
In the decade and a half since, the Masons have launched what looks like a PR exercise.
They've allowed journalists into their lodges (which is partially how we know S.S Mehta is a Mason) and even have a public website which lists their charity works (currently the MP Shah Physiotherapy Center and others)
But in a clear sign the stigma that resulted never left, there are hardly any black recognisable names in the leadership list on the site. Most of them are white, Indian or Pakistani, even in lodges not in Nairobi.
Although the Mungiki didn't succeed in Sept 2000, someone else did but on a different Lodge. The original Masonic Lodge in King'ong'o (Nyeri) was razed down by arsonists in the mid-2000s. So the members simply built another elsewhere with the same stones.
End of Thread.
One of the recommendations of the Devil Worship Commission of 1994, which was eventually made public in 1999, was to investigate the Freemasons (well...and the Mormons, and matatu culture, and just about anything else the churches didn't agree with or sponsor).
Funny enough, the Freemasons Hall on Nyerere Road, opposite Serena, was built in 1935 by the same architects and masons who built All Saints Cathedral (originally called Cathedral of the Highlands) opposite the road.
That's partially because one of the fundamental requirements to be a Mason is to believe in a deity. They only accept men who believe in a creator and actively practice a religion.
But even atheists weren't safe in Kenya at the time, as was the case with Richard Leakey.
The first people to try start a Masonic Lodge in Nairobi were the men who built the railway, but they were not high enough in the ranks to be allowed to.
The White House, and it's Lodge, were burnt down in 1905 as a measure against the bubonic plague.
The 2nd Masonic Lodge was built almost immediately after where Central Bank stands today.
Most of the men who designed and built Nairobi's iconic buildings, including most houses of government, Nairobi and Jamhuri High School were Masons.
After independence (and even before), several of our black elites were invited to the organisation.
By the early '90s, Moi was seeking a new enemy and the churches gave him one. There was widespread hysteria of kidnappings, sacrifices, ritual rapes and crimes. Any organisation not openly affiliated to a church found itself in the crosshairs of this hysteria.
At around the same time, (Kisumu politician) Joab Omino made the mistake of telling Scotland Yard detectives investigating Ouko's murder that he was a Mason.
When he died in 2004, the church refused to bury him or even host his funeral ceremony at All Saints.
Because the Masons were a secretive organisation of rich and powerful men, it found itself the enemy of the people, triggering protests by Mungiki, churches, and even editorials.
All most seemed to take out of the commission report was a need to investigate the Masons.
There's some truth to this, that the Masonic ideals of brotherhood (and secrecy) have hurt our fight against corruption and well, how people usually get rich and stay out of jail in Kenya.
One was the case of Justice A.B Shah.
Justice Shah was an accomplished judge with a litany of integrity issues. But the case that did him was connected to the brotherhood. He had helped his fellow Mason draft a replying affidavit in a case where Shah was the judge.
There was evidence of some form of payment as well
In the hysteria of the early 2000s, some churches took out ads in the papers against the Masons, and declared public war.
In the decade and a half since, the Masons have launched what looks like a PR exercise.
They've allowed journalists into their lodges (which is partially how we know S.S Mehta is a Mason) and even have a public website which lists their charity works (currently the MP Shah Physiotherapy Center and others)
But in a clear sign the stigma that resulted never left, there are hardly any black recognisable names in the leadership list on the site. Most of them are white, Indian or Pakistani, even in lodges not in Nairobi.
Although the Mungiki didn't succeed in Sept 2000, someone else did but on a different Lodge. The original Masonic Lodge in King'ong'o (Nyeri) was razed down by arsonists in the mid-2000s. So the members simply built another elsewhere with the same stones.
End of Thread.
