The reason was that it was World War 1 and Britain had declared war on Germany and hence as a sense of loyalty, the colonial government in Kenya declared that the British Protectorate would wage a war against their German neighbours in Tanzania.The Germans then
marched across the border into Taveta - the border town, annexed it and continued with the advance towards Voi.
Enroute, they stopped at strategic points like the lone hill from whose summit one can see the great vistas of Tsavo, including Taveta and any advancing army.
I’m listening to James Willson, the battlefield enthusiast and historian who worked in the 80s in a lodge in Taveta and on days off took to the hills and plains only to discover the battlefields of nearly a century ago.
So when I heard about a trip organised by the Kenya Museum Society to Tsavo, I got on the bandwagon. The Brits had been warned not to attack the trenches mid-way up the hill. Willson says as he points to the hill.
The trenches that the Germans were manning were at the bottom of the hill. But General Smuts disregarded this vital piece of advice and on 12 February 1916, the Allies bombarded the hill with heavy artillery.
When the troops reached the base of the lava hill, the Germans showed themselves unscathed from behind the lower trenches and opened a devastating fire. Aptly, Salaita is a misnomer for slaughter. We dash up the hill stopping at the trenches and the foundations of the fort. Upset that her husband had been killed by the Brits, the German frau, Mama Sukurani hid and sniped away at the British soldiers for having killed her beloved husband during the disastrous British sea borne invasion of Tanga in November 1914.
The ancient tree is pock marked with the bullet holes of nearly a century ago. But truth be told – the story is just a myth for after her beloved Tom von Prince was killed, she returned to their farm on the Usambara mountains in Tanzania, where the legend continues to date.
Willson points to the many bullet holes and the spikes from where the frau climbed and entered the hole in the trunk.
We drive past Mahoo on the way to Taveta where a pillbox is easily seen on a pair of volcanic ash cone hillocks straddling the road across the old slave route from Taveta to Voi.
The story says it’s a German pillbox – a sturdy stone mini fort, but Willson feels that it could have been built and used by the missionaries as a lookout and a bolt hole during the closing years of the 19th century with the little church on the other side of the road built later.
At Taveta, we’re in search of the Taveta Chronicle, a weekly newspaper printed in Taveta in 1987 that ran for several years. Our search proves futile but we locate the District Commissioner’s office.
Nearby is the old office – now a decrepit house with no sign of its historical past save for the sturdy stone foundation - from where the acting DC Mr Hugh La Fontain, shot through a side window at the advancing German column, hitting Lt. Boelle which made him the first German casualty of the campaign. Herr Boelle’s remains lie in the Commonwealth War Grave a few metres away maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
The tombstones neatly laid out in rows with lush pink flowers of the desert rose – show the regiment, names and ages of the soldiers, many as young as 18 and 19 years.
A lone grave of a 12-year-old boy who died during that period lies outside the commonwealth grave yard and a few minutes away we’re paying our respects to the Indian army where a stone monument stands with verses in the different Indian scripts dedicated to the fallen soldiers.
It’s incredible history on a stretch of road between Voi and Taveta which only someone with a passion would have gone through such lengths to unravel. The site of a fort on Maktau hill was pulled down for a bar.
In countries around the world, battlefield sites are a major tourist history. We, in our ignorance, may lose an interesting piece of the pie.
To find out more about the battlefields of the First World War around Taveta and Tsavo, email James Willson: jameswillson@wananchi.com or call 0733 811757.
Stay at or the KWS bandas near the gate. There are four-double bed bandas by the lakefront with a kitchenette and washing facilities at a fantastic rate of Sh3000 for a room per night. Take your food with you as it is self-catering.
And if you’re on a shoestring budget, then camping is your next best option. Email KWS or check the web for current rates. Email kws@kws.go.ke or check www.kws.go.ke
Stay at Voyager Ziwani Tented Camp outside the park within a few metres of the Ziwani gate from where you can explore the park or the battlefields outside.
Contact Heritage Hotels Telephone : +254 (020) 4446651 / 4447929 email: sales@heritagehotels.co.ke or check the web heritage-eastafrica.com.
Source: Daily Nation
Source: Daily Nation
In Mbololo, Ndome area, there is a village called Salaita. I was told that the village was named by people who served as soldiers for the British during World War 1 at the area described in the above article.
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