Can one buy a Mountain in Africa?
Well, John Boyes, happens to be the only human being who reportedly tricked the Kikuyu to sell him Africa’s second highest Mountain. The Mount Kenya.
A smooth operator, the racketeer Boyes capitalized on the absence of British administration in the interior to establish himself among the Agikuyu communities in 1892.
Stories have that Boyes bribed Chief Karuri wa Gakure by giving him western clothes among many other gifts. Because of this, the two became very close friends, with Chief Karuri ordering his men to build a hut for Boyes.
With time Boyes began exercising his influence over Karuri and the Agikuyu.
Boyes formed his own army which was made up of 5000 young men and collected taxes.
He literally built his own colony among the sons and daughters of Mumbi.
Boyes went on to extend the boundary of what he considered his territory beyond Mount Kenya.
The trickster claimed to be the owner of the mountain after paying Chief Wangombe and Chief Olomodo of Wandorobo 10 sheep each.
Boyes also became very rich by exploiting the Agikuyu and selling their farm produce and animals to the trade caravans travelling from the interior to the coast.
As the British worked to establish their administration in the interior, Frank Michael Hall was among those sent as administrators.
Hall first served as District Officer at Fort Smith (Kabete), which was a government station that had been set up by Eric Smith.
He would later move to Murang’a to establish a government station at Mbiri as the British sought to build their influence in Kikuyuland.
While there he heard about a conman called Boyes who had already established his own colony there.
Consequently, Hall summoned Boyes to a meeting at Mbiri to demand an explanation on why he had built his own colony in what was considered to be already a British territory.
A day before the meeting, Boyes asked all the Kikuyu Chiefs who had been supporting him to accompany to meet Hall.
They accepted, but on the D-day they all disappeared leaving Boyes to face the District Officer alone.
Nevertheless, Boyes decided to travel to Mbiri to meet Hall in the company of his army of 5000 strong Kikuyu men who were waving British flags.
As soon as they arrived, Hall arrested all of them.
The young men were arrested for being military impostors and wearing uniform illegally while Boyes himself was arrested for masquerading and flying the British Union Jack illegally.
The charge against him by Hall stated:
“I charge you Boyes that during your residence in the Kenya District, you waged wars, held Barazas, masqueraded as a government official, went to six punitive expeditions, and committed dacoity by robbing Wakikuyu.”
Boyes was transported to Mombasa where he was jailed at Fort Jesus.
After his prison term, he rekindled his old friendship with Chief Karuri, but the British administration was now fully established.
Boyes disappeared for a while before emerging again in 1932, when he appeared before the Carter Land Commission to claim ownership of Mount Kenya known locally as ‘Molima!’