The Mombasa tusks, also referred to as Mapemba ya Ndovu or Pembe za Ndovu ( Swahili for ''elephant tusks''), form a monument over Moi Avenue, a major

thoroughfare A thoroughfare is a primary passage or way as a transit route through regularly trafficked areas, whether by road on dry land or, by extension, via watercraft or aircraft. On land, a thoroughfare may refer to anything from a multi-lane highway ...

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. Built in the 1950s to commemorate visits by the British royal family, the monument originally comprised two wooden structures resembling

tusk Tusks are elongated, continuously growing front teeth that protrude well beyond the mouth of certain mammal species. They are most commonly canine teeth, as with pigs and walruses, or, in the case of elephants, elongated incisors. Tusks share c ...

s; nowadays, there are four

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...

tusks in an M shape. The monument is under the jurisdiction of the

National Museums of Kenya The National Museums of Kenya (NMK) is a state corporation that manages museums, sites and monuments in Kenya. It carries out heritage research, and has expertise in subjects ranging from palaeontology, archeology, ethnography and biodiversit ...

in addition to the city's municipal government.

Origin

The Mombasa tusks were originally constructed in 1952 by the British administration of the

Colony and Protectorate of Kenya The Colony and Protectorate of Kenya, commonly known as British Kenya or British East Africa, was part of the British Empire in Africa. It was established when the former East Africa Protectorate was transformed into a British Crown colony in ...

, commemorating the visit of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

to the city. Made of wood and canvas, they were erected on the Kilindini Road, as Moi Avenue was then called, which led to the Queen's residence at the Mombasa Yachting Club (or simply Mombasa Club), situated next to Uhuru Garden. The monument quickly became a local attraction, with companies and local residents advertising and making announcements by the tusks. There were originally just two tusks over Moi Avenue, which was then a one-lane road; however, it later expanded to two lanes and a new set of tusks were built in 1956 by the municipal council. Another reason for the refurbishment was the visit of

Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth ...

to the region in that year. A few metres away from the site of the original monument, the four new tusks (two over each lane) are made of weather-resistant aluminium. The tusks coincidentally form the shape of the letter M, the first letter in Mombasa.

Later history

Since then, the white tusks have been repainted several times by

United States Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through com ...

visiting the city. The municipal government placed restrictions on commercialisation and advertisement using the monument, and the

organization charges for the commercial filming of the monument. The tusks have become a popular tourist destination for the city in addition to a local meeting place. On 3 October 2014, the monument was defaced with graffiti and red paint, reading "Mombasa Not 4 Ivory Export". According to John Mbaria of the ''

Daily Nation The ''Daily Nation'' is the highest circulation Kenyan independent newspaper with 170,000 copies. History The ''Daily Nation'' was started in the year 1958 as a Swahili language, Swahili weekly called ''Taifa'' by the Englishman Charles Hay ...

'', activists aimed to get the government to take action against

poaching Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...

rings that commonly used the Port of Mombasa as an exit point. The move was denounced by Fatma Awale,

Mombasa County ) , pushpin_map = Kenya , mapsize = , map_caption = Location of Mombasa County , seat_type = Capital , seat = Mombasa , subdiv ...

Executive for Water and Environment, who stated that " he county doesn'tcondone the killing of elephants, but somebody should not take it upon themselves to deface county property while passing on a message". In 2017, the government of the county, in partnership with

Mombasa Cement Ltd Mombasa Cement Limited (MCL) is an industrial company in Kenya specializing in the manufacture of construction materials. The company maintains its headquarters in the city of Mombasa and has offices and warehouses in Nairobi, with manufactu ...

, once again refurbished the tusks. A model elephant was added to the centre of the tusks.

References

{{Coord, -4.0615, 39.6661, type:landmark_region:KE-28, display=title Monuments and memorials in Kenya

tusks Tusks are elongated, continuously growing front teeth that protrude well beyond the mouth of certain mammal species. They are most commonly canine teeth, as with pigs and walruses, or, in the case of elephants, elongated incisors. Tusks share ...