Almost two decades later, the once-busy Equator Crossing market in Ndaragwa constituency, Nyandarua, is still reeling from the terror unleashed by Mungiki, an illegal gang in Kenya.
Over the years, traders have been abandoning the market, and today, desolation fills the place, with a few boda bodas operating from there.
However, most commuters opt to alight from the matatu at the Gwa Kung’u market about a kilometre away, to take a boda boda.
Before succumbing to the Mungiki sting, Equator Crossing was a business hub, a source of livelihood for tens of families, and curio shops lining the roadside, targeting local and international tourists.
The booming business at the roadside market attracted traders from across the country, and that is how Mr Mwaura Kienja managed to buy a 10-acre farm in Nyonjoro village within a year.
Memories of bloody attacks, extortion, threats, intimidation, and blackmail by the criminal gang still linger in the minds of the residents and victims.
“If fortunes had not changed, I would today be a multimillionaire. It was a stopover for tourists. I would make some good profits selling items to local and international tourists. I specialised in carvings which I bought from Ukambani and Coastal region,” says Mr Kienja.
Other traders sold fruits and other farm produce, local attires, and artifacts, while there was a section where traditional dancers would entertain the visitors at a fee.
But, that was until around 2006, when the outlawed Mungiki criminal gang turned the market into a battlefield, extorting from traders, tourists, and motorists.
“The gang members had a toll station, they started by extorting from the traders, then tourists, and, with time, they started collecting money from motorists using the busy Nakuru-Nyeri highway,” recalls Priscillah Waiganjo, who also earned a living selling traditional attires to the tourists.
Over time, people branded the Gwa Kung’u market as a Mungiki kingdom or headquarters.
The name mũngĩkĩ means "a united people" or "multitude" in the Kikuyu language. The group was inspired by the 1950s Mau Mau rebellion against British colonial rule.
Banned in 2002 following deadly slum violence, the gang is notorious for criminal activities including extortion and murder.
“Machete-wielding criminals operated with impunity, extorting and harassing anyone; the situation deteriorated, turning the booming business area into a bloody site. Most of them were strangers in the area,” explained Ms Waiganjo.
The situation escalated, transforming the area into a bloody battlefield and claiming the lives of residents and traders.
Mr Chege Chomba has a huge scar on the head sustained during the attacks that left his brother dead.
“My brother and I were hawking Maasai lessons when a group of young men attacked us. I’m not sure what provoked the attack; they emerged from the forest singing war songs and attacked us with machetes. That day at the Equator, these young men murdered several people before disappearing back into the forest,” recalled Mr. Chomba.
“Traders abandoned the market on that day. Most of them never went back for their trading merchandise. The tourist avoided the route, opting to connect to Nakuru through the longer route at Ndunyu Njeru Aberdare Forest exit gates,” explained Mr Chomba.
The Equator Crossing is located near the Ndaragwa Forest, an extension of the Aberdare Forest, which made it a potential business area targeting tourists visiting both Aberdare and Ndaragua Forest, on transit to Nakuru, Nyeri, and Mt Kenya Forest and Nanyuki towns.
The residents attribute the stagnated growth of Gwa Kung’u and Ndaragua markets to those criminal activities.
Though the area is now calm, and a modern hotel is coming up, traders and commuters still avoid it.
Nyandarua Tourism Department and Tourism and Wildlife Ministry, under CS Rebecca Miano, are in a race to revive the tourism and business activities at the Equator Crossing, but residents fear that emerging political trends in the country might frustrate the efforts.
“We are working closely with the Ministry of Tourism to support putting infrastructure in both Equator points and CS Rebecca Miano is on it. For a start, the initiative targets directly employing 20 curio shop owners and indirectly to over 100 families,” said Mr Muiru, the Nyandarua Tourism and Trade Executive member.
“Youth groups will manage sanitation at the market centre. We will then replicate the same to the Gwa Kungu and also a stopover for market produce. We want to do away with the dark history. The place is calm. Equator Crossing has a big tourist attraction and business potential.”
Nyandarua Interfaith Council Chairperson Josam Kariuki expressed concern, saying the emerging political atmosphere in the country might frustrate the county and the ministry’s efforts to revive tourism.
“We should not take the emergence of youth groupings in the central region lightly. Keenly following the proceedings of the youths and prayer meeting in Nyeri recently, and the disrupted interdenominational prayers at Shamata in Ndaragwa Constituency, the government should ensure the citizens do not lose trust in law enforcement agencies, hence resorting to youths for the provision of security. This trend is not healthy for businesses and other economic activities,” said the archbishop.
To stop the emergence of such groups, he said, the government should offer security to all Kenyans without discrimination.
“We appreciate the county and national government’s efforts to revive tourism and business activities at the Equator and other areas, but high unemployment and the unfavorable economy risk youth exploitation for financial gain,” said the interfaith chairperson.
“This will create criminal gangs that harm businesses and investors. During the Shamata event, the youths were in command of the security during the interdenominational prayer meeting. The words spoken in Nyeri should not be taken lightly.”
“As the 2027 political pressure gains momentum, let’s be careful. Once the grouped youths stop getting handouts, they might end up in our (matatu) stages, leading to the death of many businesses like Equator Crossing in Ndaragwa.”.
