Did Queen Victoria Steal Mt Kilimanjaro From Kenya?

[Ab-Titchaz]

Did Queen Victoria yank Mount Kilimanjaro from Kenya?

​

Updated 16 hr(s) 49 min(s) ago
Patrick Wachira

The snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro might be officially on Tanzanian soil, but this has not helped avert controversy as Kenya seeks bragging rights to Africa's highest peak.

Located 20km into the Tanzanian side of the border, the mountain has fuelled acrimony among tour operators from the two countries; who equally market it as one of the main attractions in their respective nations.

But the incredible irony is that while tourists can only climb Kilimanjaro from Tanzania, they have to visit Kenya's Amboseli National Park to get a perfect view of the mountain. This is coupled with a belief that Kilimanjaro belonged to Kenya but Queen Victoria , then the monarch of the United Kingdom, gave it to her grandson, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, as a birthday gift in 1886.

"It is said that the Britons gave it out to the Germans when defining the territories. This is partly confirmed by the fact that the borderline from Lake Victoria to the Coast is straight and only broken by a curve around Kilimanjaro," says Dr Ephraim Wahome, a Tourism lecturer at the University of Nairobi.

Apparently, Kenyan online tour marketers have been promoting this belief among tourists while their Tanzanian counterparts formulate theories to contest it. The issue took a political leaning in 2006 when then Tourism Minister Morris Dzoro told a travel agents conference that Mount Kilimanjaro was one of Kenya's top tourist attractions.

The Tanzanian tourism ministry openly castigated Kenya over the issue, with Chief Executive of the Tanzanian Association of Tour Operators, Mustapha Akunaay accusing Kenya of hoodwinking tourist into believing the mountain is in Kenya.

Today, hundreds of Kenyan tour and travel agencies explicitly use the mountain to market their safaris. While Tanzania markets the climbing aspect, Kenya has been marketing the viewing aspect.

"We have to take advantage of nature. You will be a poor marketer if you don't take advantage of one viewing the world's highest freestanding mountain from one of the leading game parks in the world," says Danson Kaelo, a tour marketer.

On their sites, most Kenyan tour agencies and lodges use images captured from the Amboseli, with a picturesque scene of the Kilimanjaro in the background. The Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge, which is located within the park, provides a perfect example.

"Set against the magnificent backdrop of Africa's highest mountain, the glittering Kilimanjaro, Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge enjoys a uniquely privileged position at the heart of this world-famous national park," reads a message on the lodge's website.

Kenya-Travel-Packages.com, an online tour agency, carries a bold slogan that reads: "The elephant-crammed Amboseli offers picturesque views of Kilimanjaro. Even though the majestic mountain is located in Tanzania, the best views of it are, in fact, from the Amboseli, which is strategically located at the foot of the mountain," it notes.

With climbing the mountain being a highly perilous affair, some lodges in the Amboseli also take advantage of this limitation to outdo Tanzanians.

The Amboseli Sopa Lodge carries an advert stating that its rooms have a deck from which "you can visually conquer the snowcapped peaks of the Kilimanjaro".

So confusing is the Kilimanjaro fairytale that Tanzanians have been literally inquiring about the location and history of their own mountain.

"During the African Public Service Week, 2009, Tanzanians flocked the Kenyan Tourism Ministry stand inquiring whether claims by Kenyans that Kilimanjaro is in Kenya were true. But we assured them that it is in Tanzania," says Mwangi Gakunga, then the public relations officer at the ministry.

http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/InsidePage.php?id=2000040730&cid=4&ttl=Did Queen Victoria yank Mount Kilimanjaro from Kenya?

 

[The Boss]

its true..

kenya walikuwa hawana bandari
sababu coastal region yao ilikuwa chini ya sultani wa zanzibar and later tanganyika

kwa kuwa walikuwa na mt kenya na kilimanjaro

walipewa coastal region,tanganyika ikapewa one mountain ambao ndio kilimanjaro....

kenya wamebaki na mt kenya na wamepata mombasa na lamu

 

[VoiceOfReason]

Are Kilimanjaro People more Kenyans than Tanzanians?...

I think there lies your answer borders are just man made but the community tells more..

 

[The Boss]

dawa ya kenya ni kutoza ushuru mkubwa kwa watalii wanaotokea kenya tu...

 

[Katavi]

Hivi kwa nini wizara yetu ya utalii haiutangazi huu mlima kwa nguvu ili kuondoa huu mkanganyiko wa nani ni mmiliki kati ya kenya na tz?

 

[Geza Ulole]

its true..

kenya walikuwa hawana bandari
sababu coastal region yao ilikuwa chini ya sultani wa zanzibar and later tanganyika

kwa kuwa walikuwa na mt kenya na kilimanjaro

walipewa coastal region,tanganyika ikapewa one mountain ambao ndio kilimanjaro....

kenya wamebaki na mt kenya na wamepata mombasa na lamu

Hakuna ukweli wowote ukienda Berlin kwenye colonial archives utaona the 1884 division of Africa original map ya Tanganyika (Deutsch OstAfrika) iko kama ilivyo sasa ukiachialia mbali kupungua kwa Rwanda na Burundi na kuongezeka Zanzibar! Actually the only thing we see ni kuwa in Kenya and Somalia kulikuwa na territories under Zanzibar kama Lamu na Mombasa huku Kismayu ndani ya Somalia zilinunuliwa toka Sultan wa Zanzibar na Waingereza ila hawa hawapendi kuliongelea hilo ila zaidi wanapenda kuji-fool kuwa Kilimanjaro was their's a misguided myth!

 

[Geza Ulole]

Are Kilimanjaro People more Kenyans than Tanzanians?...

I think there lies your answer borders are just man made but the community tells more..

hapa unamaanisha nini? kuna watu gani walio maeneo ya mipakani wasiofanana na wenzao wa upande wa pili? umejaribu kuangalia mipaka ya Tunduma? je Lungalunga border? Je Mtukula border?

 

[Kinyungu]

Kwa nini huu mlima usirudishwe Kenya tu pamoja wananchi wanaoishi kuuzunguka? Nauliza tu maana wanaoishi kuuzunguka huu mlima wanafaa zaidi kuwa Wakenya kuliko Watz

 

[The Quonquerer]

Kwa nini huu mlima usirudishwe Kenya tu pamoja wananchi wanaoishi kuuzunguka? Nauliza tu maana wanaoishi kuuzunguka huu mlima wanafaa zaidi kuwa Wakenya kuliko Watz

Acha ubaguzi, nina reservation nao, lakini huko siko.! Ujinga huo!

 

[MK254]

Hakuna ukweli wowote ukienda Berlin kwenye colonial archives utaona the 1884 division of Africa original map ya Tanganyika (Deutsch OstAfrika) iko kama ilivyo sasa ukiachialia mbali kupungua kwa Rwanda na Burundi na kuongezeka Zanzibar! Actually the only thing we see ni kuwa in Kenya and Somalia kulikuwa na territories under Zanzibar kama Lamu na Mombasa huku Kismayu ndani ya Somalia zilinunuliwa toka Sultan wa Zanzibar na Waingereza ila hawa hawapendi kuliongelea hilo ila zaidi wanapenda kuji-fool kuwa Kilimanjaro was their's a misguided myth!

Huyo sultan wako mwarabu hatumtambui, halafu mlima wetu wa Kilimanjaro kwa vile hatuwezi upata, ila tutapiga hela kwa kuutumia, watali hufanya honeymoons wakifurahia mlima wakiwa Kenya.

 

[msemakweli]

By that logic, then she also stole Mombasa and Lamu from Tanzania!
No wonder hawa watu wa Pwani ya Kenya wanataka uhuru wao!

 

[msemakweli]

Kwa nini huu mlima usirudishwe Kenya tu pamoja wananchi wanaoishi kuuzunguka? Nauliza tu maana wanaoishi kuuzunguka huu mlima wanafaa zaidi kuwa Wakenya kuliko Watz

Na sisi turudishiwe Pwani nzima ya Kenya kwa sababu wanaoishi huko wanafaa zaidi kuwa waTz kuliko Wakenya!

 

[MK254]

By that logic, then she also stole Mombasa and Lamu from Tanzania!
No wonder hawa watu wa Pwani ya Kenya wanataka uhuru wao!

Cha kufanya labda na nyie muanze kuwatangazia watalii waje waione Lamu wakiwa Tanzania.

 

[MK254]

Na sisi turudishiwe Pwani nzima ya Kenya kwa sababu wanaoishi huko wanafaa zaidi kuwa waTz kuliko Wakenya!

Nyie hata Wazanzibar wamewachoka na wanataka uhuru wao.

 

[MK254]

nakushauri ukiona ccm wanaelemewa wewe watetee

Huwa nawahurumia sana baadhi yenu, yaani huwa mnafikiria uongozi wa nchi ni kama biashara ya kuuza nguo pale soko la Manzense eti ukiwa rais unaamrisha vurugu za kiajabu ajabu. Ndio maana upinzani Tanzania hamjapata fursa ya kuongoza nchi maana hampo tayri na hata hii 2015 mtashindwa tuu hata mkiungana vipi.

Watanzania wanaona upinzani mumejaa vurugu na kutapatapa bila mwelekeo. Hamjafikia kama upinzani ulivyokua Kenya hadi tukawapa uongozi. Naona hata juzi CCM wameshinda kwa asilimia kubwa sana. Hata pamoja na ufisadi wa Escrow hamjafaulu kutikisa chochote.

Kama unaelewa Kingereza soma hii taarifa uone jinsi hamna chochote.

allAfrica.com: Tanzania: Landslide Poll Win for CCM in Dodoma

Dodoma - CIVIC election results from all seven districts in Dodoma Region announced on Wednesday showed that the ruling party, CCM has run riot with over 90 per cent of the seats.
In Kongwa District, CCM walked away with all 87 villages and also all 17 villages in Dodoma municipality were retained by the party.
Further reports issued by the Regional civic election coordinator, Mr Emmanuel Kuboja indicated that in Bahi district, CCM won in 54 villages out of 59 while the remaining five were taken by CHADEMA.
In Chemba District, he said that CCM clutched 79 villages while CHADEMA got 10 and Civic United Front (CUF) walked away with 14.
In Chamwino, CCM finished with 75 village seats while Chadema took two. Mr Kuboja noted that in Kondoa District, results indicated that the ruling party grabbed 53 villages while CHADEMA and CUF finished with two and 11 respectively.
In Mpwapwa District, he said that CCM won in 102 villages and CHADEMA managed only one. From Moshi, DEUS NGOWI reports that the election scenario in Moshi has come to what might be termed as a repetition of what occurred in 2009 polls, with Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and Chadema ruffling each other's feathers.
In the Sunday polls, CCM entered the war with only four elected councillors and without any Member of Parliament while their counterparts had 17 elected councillors (90 per cent), one elected MP and three on Special Seats. The ruling party was given little chance to shine.
However, the returning officer, Moshi Municipal Executive Director, Mr Shaaban Ntarambe, announced results that showed CCM candidates emerging victorious in 28 streets while Chadema won 26.
CCM District Secretary, Mr Loti ole Nesele, told the 'Daily News' that they knew it was a stiff battle, as Moshi has for a long time been one of the strongest bases for the opposition since the multiparty politics began in 1992, with all its MPs emerging from NCCR-Mageuzi and Chadema.
"The situation was terrible. It was a fierce battle because our competitors were strong with four MPs and 17 elected councillors. "We did not give up.
Instead, we fielded strong candidates who are committed to the cause of serving the 'wananchi' and the results are a fair base for the forthcoming general elections," said the CCM secretary.


In 2009, CCM commanded the Moshi Municipal Council by 90 per cent with 17 elected councilors, while Chadema had only three councillors and one MP.
In the civic poll results, Chadema was able to garner 23 street chairpersons while CCM got 37.
Mr Nesele said in some streets CCM lost because the election preparations were not good enough on the part of returning officers and his assistants to the extent that some voters gave up waiting for voting materials.
One prominent party zealots, Mr Wenceslaus Mbuya 'Mugabe', who had been Chairman of Sokoni Street at Majengo since 1994 but lost to Chadema's Abuu Shayo, reclaimed his position last Sunday, saying the electorates had restored trust in him, as he kept working with them while out of office.
He said promises to citizens are to empower youth and women with business capital in groups. Another one, Mr Salim Liwali who defeated a once strong Chadema cadre, Shaaan Doto at Sokoni Street said his predecessor had fulfilled some promises, like better infrastructure, but he was in to ensure all children get education, youth and women are empowered.
Results from Siha District Council, as announced by its DED, Mr Rashid Kitambulio, show that in chairpersonship, CCM candidates were elected in 52 villages while Chadema won eight.

 

[Kiranga]

Kilimanjaro: Border

Briggs, Philip Guide to Tanzania

A partition was agreed in 1886, identical to the modern border between Kenya and Tanzania. You may read that Kilimanjaro was part of the British territory before Queen Victoria gave it to her cousin, the Kaiser, as a birthday present. This amusing story was possibly dreamed up by a Victorian satirist to reflect the arbitrariness of the scramble. It is a complete fabrication.

Else, David Trekking in East Africa

In 1886, when the governments of Germany and Britain agreed on a border to officially define their territories, the line they drew - from Victoria to the coast - was perfectly straight, broken only by an untidy curve around Kilimanjaro. This divided the original British territory claimed by Johnston, now in Kenya, from the rest of the area around Kilimanjaro, now in Kenya.
You may be told that the border curves around Kilimanjaro because Queen Victoria gave the mountain to Kaiser Wilhelm (her grandson) as a birthday present. While such an action would have been no different to the arbitrary partitioning of East Africa by these two monarch's own governments, there is no evidence that this story is true. But it remains one of the popular myths that add to the mystique and attraction of Kilimanjaro.

Schneppen, Heinz Why Kilimanjaro is in Tanzania

There is a widespread belief that Kilimanjaro is situated in what is now Tanzania because Queen Victoria presented the mountain to her grandson, the German Emperor because, she is quoted as saying, "Wilhelm likes everything that is high and big". This popular version has been up to now reflected in many publications. In history books it is used as an example of the arbitrary way the colonial powers established their frontiers on the African continent. The story of Victoria and Wilhelm is sentimental, but it does not correspond to the facts. Victoria, as we will see later, had nothing to give away and Wilhelm nothing to receive considering that in 1886, when the fate of Mount Kilimanjaro was decided, his grandfather was the Emperor and not Wilhelm; indeed his own father, the Crown Prince, still awaited his turn. The answer is simple: Kilimanjaro is in Tanzania because in a given situation the Germans had the better cards and the British thought it wisest to be accommodating. And they had their special reasons, as we will see later.

 

[jerrytz]

Its amazing, whenever Africans discuss their ''problems'', they look to the Europeans for the answers....
If we know history, there was no Kenya nor Tanganyika before Europeans decided to put these borders.
Before the demarcation of the border lines hakukuwa na Kenya wala Tanganyika.
Unawezaje kudai Mlima Kilimanjaro ulikuwa ndani ya Kenya wakati Kenya haikuwepo?