As a journalist, you often step into an aura that engulfs you with historical reminiscence. And that was exactly what went through my mind on Friday morning at the extravagant Pitt Rivers Museum housed in a brown walled sprawling building in the heart of Oxford town, the home of the famous Oxford University campus.

The Pitt Rivers Museum is a collection centre for artefacts from all over the word.

I was literally biting at the heels of one Dr Kibny’aanko arap Seroney, a Warwick University scholar, who has been scouring this end of the woods in search of the priceless Nandi artefacts, purportedly stolen from Africa during the colonial years.

The museum has over 100 collections from the Nandi, an area under Nyanza Province during colonial administration.

Seroney is treading familiar waters having been behind the return of several personal artefacts of the famous Nandi leader Koitalel arap Samoei (1860-1905), who was murdered by the colonial rulers in 1905.

In 2006, the three staffs of office that were taken away after Koitalel’s death by Richard Meneitzhagen were handed over to Seroney by Randle Meneitzhagen in an initiative funded by Kass Media.

Seroney had hinted to me that on consultation, he had wind of the fact that the newly opened Upper Gallery at the PR Museum contained some Nandi weaponry; among them the ng’otit (a wide blade spear), kwaankeenek (bows), bchabook (arrows), and the famous loong’eet (shield), still looking good in its array of colours.

Warwick scholar Kiby’aanko Seroney with PR Head of Collections Jeremy Coote in the museum on Friday.

I was politely asked if I will "pleeeeease! not use the tripod when filming" — to which I replied in the affirmative and went on my walkabout, eyes wide and widening at every turn like a kid in candy store. The weaponry ranged from the first known firearm complete with gunpowder to the long buffalo-soldier types, all polished and properly secured under plain glass.

On the same floor there is an interesting collection of weaponry from the African and Asian continents, I could not help noting the similarities from far and wide.

I am so looking forward to the next visit after the disappointment of not being allowed to open the glass compartments and touch those historical pieces. The visit, part of a research project by Seroney and with the Standard Group as a media partner, was arranged by the Head of Collections, Mr Jeremy Coote, a very amiable fellow.

Courtesy: standardmedia.co.ke