Freemasonry hand in Nairobi’s architecture

Freemasonry and Kenyan issues; talk about that and you are likely to elicit varied responses from those listening to you.

A society with secrets, Freemasonry is as much feared by some as it is loved by those who adhere to its tenets. 

It teaches the inclusive nature of all religions, among its other controversial characteristics.

You only need to believe in a supreme being.

The beliefs one holds become an opinion among many.

No place typifies the early and contemporary history of Freemasonry in Kenya like the city of Nairobi. 

Nairobi was, in its early days, an empty place predominantly occupied by wild animals.

However, the Kikuyu lived to the west of Nairobi; Maasais to the south and Kambas to the east.

At this time, these communities had little contact with the Christian Gospel and therefore were animists – involved in African Traditional Religion.

The original founders of the city were Europeans, Asians, Arabs and Somalis.

The Asians, Arabs, Somalis and the Swahilis brought in Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism and Jainism.

Some of the oldest buildings are from these particular religions.

But it is the European settler community which brought in Freemasonry.

There was a marked increase in the activity of Satanists and other occult activists in the city and country as a whole until a presidential inquiry in demonic worship was established during the reign of retired President Daniel Arap Moi .

The report was handed to the president in 1995 and released in 1999 to religious leaders.

Sources suggest that false religions, cults and occultist activities are headquartered in Nairobi.

 The Europeans and settlers who founded Nairobi certainly had Freemasons within their number.

By 1901 there was a Freemasonry lodge in the new town.

In Nairobi: A Jubilee History it is noted that:

Development of Government Road, then known as the Station Road, was sufficiently advanced in 1901 for the Municipal Committee to assume responsibility for its policing, lighting and cleansing. Municipal Notice No. 3 issued in March assessing the annual rentals, gives us an accurate picture of the first businesses contacted in that street. Firstly, there was Rossenrode, MacJohn & Company who built a hotel which was rented at some time by Tommy Wood as a tea room.

T.A. Wood later built White House in Government Road, when it was developed and a Major Rayne took over the whole of his old hotel, a portion of which was used as a Masonic Lodge (emphasis added).

This building, hosting the Masonic lodge was burned in 1905 as a sanitation measure against plague. The next Masonic hall was built where the Central Bank stands. In 1935, the plot opposite the All Saints Cathedral (then called Cathedral of the Highlands) was granted to the Masonic Trustees to put up the current building at the site.

Freemasonry was to play a great role in the development of the city. Since it is a religion based on the ancient and mystery religions of Egypt, there are Masonic symbols and signs all over the city.

From the testimonies of converted Satanists there are also witches’ covens in the city.

They meet in houses and offices.

Because of their secrecy there is no known place they use.

Still on Freemasonry, their influence on Kenyan Christianity would prove to be definitive in several ways. 

According to St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church of East Africa’s Moderators report of November 2003 (published in Spark magazine, February 2005) most of the missionaries in late 1800s and early 1900s were missionaries-cum-Freemasons.

Their research, which was undertaken for 10 years focusing on Freemasonry in the Church of Scotland Mission/PCEA, revealed that the missionaries-cum-Freemasons using parish/come mentality bought or were granted land on which they built buildings that extensively incorporated Freemasonry signs and symbols.

Incidentally, Anglican and Roman Catholic Church buildings were not spared.

According to this report, this ensured that Freemasons could manipulate legitimate worship in churches through psychic energy released through Freemasonry signs and symbols.

Their conclusion from the research is that Biblical Christianity is totally incompatible with Freemasonry.

During the 1920s the planning of the municipal town of Nairobi began in earnest.

The government architect during this time was Mr. J.A. Hoogterp who later in the early 1930s resettled in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Sir Herbert Baker, who visited in 1925 and 1926 to handle several on-going and future projects, was a Freemason.

Subsequent plans were designed to make Nairobi the East African headquarters for various organizations.

The comparative plans for the layout of the town were drawn from: Washington D.C, the political, legislative and judicial capital of the USA; Paris, the capital city of France; Cape Town, the legislative capital of South Africa; Pretoria, the executive capital of South Africa; Canberra, the executive capital of Australia; New Delhi, the capital city of India and La Plata, an Argentinean city. 

All the above cities are widely recognized as Masonic-designed cities. 

A search on the internet also revealed they have Masonic signs and symbols.

In Paris, at Place De La Concorde (originally called Place De La Revolution where priests and Christian nobles were guillotined during the French Revolution) a 246-tonne and 92ft obelisk from Luxor, Egypt was erected in 1835.

It was a gift of the Viceroy of Egypt, Mohamed Ali to the king of France, Charles X.

This obelisk had stood at Luxor, Egypt for 3,500 years.

At Louvre, which is shaped like a Masonic temple with statues of Isi and Manco-Capac, son of the Inca sun-god, there is a large glass pyramid – pyramids are central to Freemasonry.

Washington D.C, on the other hand, has the following symbols within its design – compass, square, Triple Tau, and the upside down pentagram.

The Washington monument is also made in the shape of ancient Egyptian pyramids.

Are there any significant discernible signs or symbols imbedded in the original plan or layout of the city?

The Nairobi Master Plan shows clearly the incorporation of compass and square in the Nairobi Hill.

It also seems that the shape of the Kenya Centre incorporating all the major civic and central government buildings is in the form of an Ankh.

Here is why: The map with the “Kenya Centre” was part of the headline for the East African Standard, October 2, 1948.

Mayor Alderman F.G.R. Woodley (after whom Woodley estate is named) said:   “The assent of Government to its preparation marks a definite step in our development … An expanding township had, in fact, reached the stage where a new purpose and directive was imperative, to fit it for the mature role of a Colonial Capital…. It is indeed the key of the door (emphasis added).

An Ankh to ancient Egyptians was the “sign of life”.

It was the symbol of the key which opened the door between the material and the non-material.

Additionally, a letter written by George Power in November 2001 to new masons in the province of Atrim, Ireland, states, “Masonry gives you a key to a door, opens a path to your feet but you are not forced to open the door or follow the path.”

Seasoned observers suggest they see Masonic significance in the architecture, location or positional relationship of the central buildings in the city, especially those representing the political, economic, educational or religious powers of the city and also say Freemasons lay some of the cornerstones.

Such buildings include the Law Courts, City Hall, Parliament Buildings, Kenyatta International Conference Centre, the Holy Family Basilica, the East African Commission, Kenya Railways headquarters, County Hall, Kenya National Archives, Kenya National Museum, Kipande House, Memorial Hall, McMillan Memorial Library, All Saints’ Cathedral and St. Andrew’s PCEA. 

The Freemasons Hall situated on Nyerere Road (formerly Kirk Road) was built in 1935, according to Nairobi: Jubilee History 1900-1950.

The first Masonic lodge was on Moi Avenue as early as 1901.

The second building is believed to have been constructed where the Central Bank stands today.

The current building was built on a permanent underground river that runs across Nairobi from the Ngong Hills.

Freemasonry watchers also raise queries about various city parks, barazas, those who commissioned and funded them, artwork in public places and buildings as well as the background and possible significance of the statues and monuments of the city and those they have inspired elsewhere in the country. 

Some of the Freemasons – constituting the so-called “South African connection” – who influenced Nairobi and wider Kenya by dint of history are British industrialist Cecil Rhodes and his protégé Sir Herbert Baker; individuals in colonial Kenya influenced by Rhodes include Lord Delamere and Colonel Grogan.

Freemasonry was spread around the world through the British Empire.

It involves every career and every profession.

Despite denials, it is missionary in nature.

According to Masonic Secrets and Rituals Exposed, a book by Peter Ndakwe, Freemasonry played and continues to play a role in the founding and spread of the following:  Theosophical Society, Christian Science, Unitarianism, Jehovah Witnesses (its founders were Freemasons), Mormonism (founder Joseph Smith was a high ranking Freemason), ecumenical/interfaith movements (e.g. the World Council of Churches), Satanism (symbols used are drawn from Freemasonry alongside other occult sources) and the New Age Movement.

There is wide membership all over the world, including the who-is-who in global politics, business, media, popular culture and even faith. 

The most prominent, and confessed Freemasons in Kenya, include ex-Attorney General Charles Njonjo and former Vice President Moody Awori. 

It should be noted that according to Presidential Commission of Inquiry on Devil Worship in Kenya (Daily Nation, August 5, 1999) released to religious organizations (but not to the public) the following towns had Masonic lodges:  Mombasa, Nairobi (Freemasons Hall), Nakuru, Nyeri, Kisumu, Eldoret and Kitale.

This means that five of Kenya’s eight provincial headquarters and two key district headquarters – bread baskets of Kenya to be precise – have a Masonic influence.

“Freemasonry works for the destruction of Christianity from within and without,” says a Nairobi-based researcher. 

The lead story in the February edition of the New African magazine suggested that secret societies are “the way forward for Africa.” 

 “Powerful secret societies in the West and elsewhere rule their countries and the world behind the scenes.  They meet annually or thereabouts in secret locations.  They discuss and take decisions on major policies affecting their countries in the world,” wrote Baffour Ankomah, the magazine’s editor.

He continued:  “Their membership cuts across politics, business, media, military, diplomacy, academia, etc.  And they gel things done as planned.  Being part of the same world, doesn’t Africa also need its own secret societies (multiples of them, minus their sinister side) to defend its interests globally and speed up its development?” 

Secret societies he looked into include Skulls and Bones, The Bohemian Grove, The Round Table, The Inquiry, Council on Foreign Relations, Trilateral Commission, Bilderberg and Afrikaner Broderbund. 

“They are all variations of Freemasonry,” notes another Kenyan watcher of secret societies.

And he adds:  “We need to take stock of their role and influence in our past, present and future history.  We especially need to assess their influence in shaping the Kenya we have at the moment.”

*I belong to no secret society myself, and yearn to join none.  Am also greatly indebted to the researchers who have allowed me to quote them so generously in this article.