Baringo residents want their ‘ancestor’ back

When in 2000 the fossils of one of the earliest human ancestors were discovered in Kapsomin village in Baringo District, the locals had much reason to hope they would benefit from such a major global archaeological find.

The sad story emerging is that Orrorin Tugenensis, also known as “Millennium Man,” has disappeared from Kipsaraman Community Museum in Baringo North District, effectively turned the community museum that was built for its exhibit into a monument of shame.

Locals are now demanding that Eustace Kitonga — the director of Kipsaraman Community Museum, who has the fossil in his custody — return the Millennium Man.

Mr Kitonga maintains that the fossils are stored in a secret and safe bank vault in Nairobi, contrary to earlier plans to keep the fossils within the community to attract tourists, scientists and students.

But the locals have no proof whether the “Millennium Man” is still in the country or not.

Disappointed community

A recent visit to Kipsaraman by The EastAfrican found a disappointed community that had hoped to benefit from the finding in many ways, even as those at the National Museums of Kenya believe that the fossils are being exhibited outside Kenya in return for millions of shillings.

At the time of the discovery, the Millenium Man was older than the previously oldest remains found at Aramis in Ethiopia, which were 4.5 million years old.

Also found in Ethiopia was “Lucy,” the skeleton of Australopithicus afarensis found in 1974 and believed to have lived around 3.2 million years ago.

“It is a curse to the community for somebody to go walking around with our ancestor. Even though we live in an arid area where we cannot grow any crops, we believe that God gave us the rich fossil deposits in compensation. Now, an outsider is benefiting at the expense of the locals,” said Zephania Kimosop, the chairman of the local committee that looks after the community museum.

Rich deposits

The area, together with Tugen hills and Turkana region is rich with archeological deposits.

For instance, Lake Turkana National Park — formerly Sibiloi — is among the three Kenyan sites listed in the Unesco World heritage List for its rich fossil deposits.

The Baringo area is part of Africa’s Great Rift Valley, which has long been rich in archaeological and palaeontological discoveries and the source of almost all fossils related to man’s earliest ancestors.

The area is rich in calcium carbonate and calcium phosphate that replace the organic material in bones to form fossils in an environment sealed by lava or volcanic ash.