Chuka, Kenya

These aboriginal forest inhabitants seem to have been the Gumba, now only remembered by some traditions and described as very small people.

Their exodus was provoked by an invasion from Somalia, which drove away the people living around Shungwaya, north of Malindi.

During the Emergency, they were the only Meru to be forcibly settled into villages of the Kikuyu and Embu pattern.

Chuka and the surrounding area politics were dominated by the Democratic Party that was led by former Kenya President Mwai Kibaki from 1992 to 2002.

The Chuka people largely practice Christianity with a small minority of Muslims and traditional religions.

According to Zaphania Samuel Mumbere, a scholar and an authority in the Chukan's customs, traditions and ways of life, the Chuka people were a close knit society that kept the spirit of the community alive by oral narrations and practices that were passed down generations.

Notably, some are serving as Heads of Government Institutions, VCs, PSs and University Principals among others.