Astute-Feature,
I didn’t prod Kamuya wa Ng’arua for an explanation on why he prefers to be identified by an African name despite having grown up in a Christian family set up.
But I was grateful I didn’t. Ng’arua is a practicing Jew but a conservative African at heart. A kippah (a brimless cap traditionally worn by Jewish males to cover their heads) is one thing that I noticed he dons when I visited him at his expansive Kagumo Garden located right opposite Kagumo Teachers College.
Right from the main gate, one begins to gather the kind of character he is likely to meet. Supported high up by giant bamboo beams of the massive gate is an almost inconspicuous carved wooden insignia with the words: Art is Life.
And it is this inscription that perhaps gives one a slight glimpse in the mind of the 66 –year-old lawyer who once served as lead prosecutor during the trial of Rwandese genocide suspects at International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Arusha.
The entire compound is marooned by towering indigenous canopies of singing wood of trees ranging from the revered ficus thonningii (mugumo) to the towering bamboo canes. Conspicuously dotting the main compound are dozens of pomegranates laden with golden yellow fruits, a favourite delicacy for birds that have made this quite homestead their abode.
Ng’arua gestures during the lecture. One cannot fail to notice the kippah on his head which identifies his religious affiliation as a practicing Jew. (Photos by KNA)
Ng’arua jokingly told us there were so many trees in this farm that it would be impossible to find a space to plant a single extra seedling. But it is his passion for art and his tender heart for greenspaces that captures one’s attention and immediately takes a tour of his expansive home that also hosts a private cultural theater.
“I was working in South Africa when I saw an advert from a lady called Hellen Mwea who was at the time doing a course at a South African University as a Master of Arts, “he narrates. “During my free time I used to go to her place and she used to teach me(art) and so I got quite a good grasp of how composing art is done. At that time, I was working as the deputy Director for Public Prosecutions for the Republic of Swaziland (now Eswatini.),”he continued.
Ng’arua’s love for fine art was quite evident after taking us through a tour of his nine lodges whose walls and ceilings bear what can only be described as a masterstroke akin to mediaeval rock art. The skillfully done frescoes depict colourful scenes of life in pre-colonial African homesteads, the legendary nine daughters of Gikuyu and Mumbi, and coffee farming in post-independence Kenya.
Each of the rooms carries its unique scenery; evoking nostalgic memories of the past when life was innocent and free. In such a setting, it would almost be impossible for one to leave without a longing for those yesteryears with all their beautiful memories. Ng’arua says the rooms, complete with boarding facilities will soon be ready for occupation. Almost every piece of furniture is locally made either from split bamboo canes or indigenous hardwood stumps.
Even the very plumbing of the washrooms is carved out of pure bamboo giving the rooms an exquisite African feel that resonates with its nostalgic past.
Our host says what inspires his work is humanity and nature. For him art mirrors our everyday existence. And almost the entire sculpture is his own handiwork. “When you do a piece of art it is akin to writing a book. There’s no difference. If you can do art, you can write a book. You are expressing what you are experiencing. What I do in my art is an expression of what surrounds me and the stories I found about our people,” he continues.
In his spare time, he reads books. On the day of this visit he was reading Ken Follet’s book, Never. When I asked him whether the works of Renaissance painters Michelangelo Buonarroti and Leonardo da Vinci did ever inspire him, he answered in the negative.
His was homegrown though he admitted to us that he did come across Da Vinci’s works during his stay in South Africa in the early 1990s.But his love with antiques is not only restricted here. The same passion is replicated in his big bungalow and also in his workshop where we found collections of old radio sets, LP sets and typewriters dating as late as the 1930s.He showed as one Philip radio which his late mother used to listen during the colonial days. The radio is still in good working condition.
Ng’arua takes us through some of the lodges in his Kagumo Garden currently under construction. One cannot fail to notice Ng’arua’s love for rock art as engraved on the walls of the nine rooms.
As we shift from art, our discussion shifted to the killing fields of Rwanda and specifically his work at the ICTR. The veteran lawyer served at the court for a decade till his retirement in 2013.
The court was established in November 1994 by the UN Security Council in Resolution 955 to try perpetrators of the Rwandese genocide that decimated the lives of more than 800,000 minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus within a span of three months.
Ng’arua who admitted to have handled some of the high-octane cases in the trials including that of fugitive Felicien Kabuga termed the achievements of the court a remarkable milestone. Notable among these achievements was the conviction of high-profile personalities such as former Rwandan Prime Minister Jean Kambanda.
Kambanda pleaded guilty to six charges of genocide and was sentenced to life imprisonment on September 4 1998 following his dramatic arrest in Nairobi on July 18 1997.
He had been on the run for three years.
“The most important thing that came out of that court (ICTR)was during the trial of Kambanda (Jean)in which it was ruled that the intention to cause a genocide can be expressed even by killing a few people or subjecting them to conditions that make it difficult for them to produce or thrive-that was genocide,” he explained.
He similarly cited the court’s jurisprudence on Superior Responsibility Obligation that held army commanders liable for atrocities committed by their foot soldiers regardless of whether or not they were present during such incidents.
In the case of Kabuga, Ng’arua was hesitant to dwell much on the matter but complained of much politicization of the case including from western powers such as the US. He nevertheless touched on Kabuga’s link to Radio television Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM) which he said was believed to have played a significant role in fueling the genocide.
At the time of the killings, Kabuga was serving as the Director for the media station.
“I investigated the case of Felicen Kabuga and I know more than most people and exactly what happened. There was a lot of politics which revolved around his vast business empire in tea and other merchandise. But Kabuga was wanted due to his involvement with RTLM. He was a major shareholder there and the propaganda that was coming out of the news outlet contributed to the genocide in a very big way,” he said.
And as we wrap up our visit, I requested him to open up about his faith. But his explanation left me way off from what I expected. According to him Jews and Gikuyu people share much in common with their history chronicled in the Old Testament, or Torah, from which Judaism faith is anchored upon.
And while Judaism adherents profess belief in one God, Ng’arua says it is a religion of habits and thoughts. His weekly worship program commences at sunset every Friday culminating with Shabbat (Sabbath) meetings in the synagogue (located within his compound) and ends on Saturday at dusk.
At least 20 other ‘Jews’ from as far as Nyandarua and Laikipia counties congregate in his compound every Shabbat for worship and meditation.All the teachings are exclusively derived from the Torah although the Hebrew Talmud is at times incorporated as a reference source.
“Judaism is not about race. It’s about embracing certain habits of thoughts and habits of actions. And that is how I discovered that we were just brothers with the people (Israelites),” he insists.