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Uhuru Gardens National Monument and Museum is a commemorative park and museum in
Uhuru Gardens National Monument and Museum is a commemorative park and museum in Nairobi
Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...
, Kenya
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, national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
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, capital = Nairobi
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, largest_city = Nairobi
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that celebrates independence from the British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
in 12 December 1963. The word "uhuru" is Swahili for "freedom". It contains three points of significance:
* The Mũgumo tree (''Ficus sycomorus
''Ficus sycomorus'', called the sycamore fig or the fig-mulberry (because the leaves resemble those of the mulberry), sycamore, or sycomore, is a fig species that has been cultivated since ancient times.
The term ''sycamore'' spelled with an A ...
)'', purportedly planted in the exact location the Union Jack
The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...
, or more likely the former Flag of the Colony of Kenya, was removed and the Flag of Kenya
The Flag of Kenya () is a tricolour of black, red, and green with two white edges imposed with a red, white and black Maasai shield and two crossed spears. The flag is based on that of Kenya African National Union and was officially adopted on ...
was placed. The tree is also of significance to the Kikuyu people
The Kikuyu (also ''Agĩkũyũ/Gĩkũyũ'') are a Bantu ethnic group native to Central Kenya. At a population of 8,148,668 as of 2019, they account for 17.13% of the total population of Kenya, making them Kenya's largest ethnic group.
The te ...
.
* The independence commemorative monument, built in 1973, is a twenty-four meter high column, supporting a pair of clasped hands and a dove of peace. This point celebrates the declaration of independence at midnight, 12 December 1963. It also celebrates the inauguration of Kenya's first president, Jomo Kenyatta
Jomo Kenyatta (22 August 1978) was a Kenyan anti-colonial activist and politician who governed Kenya as its Prime Minister from 1963 to 1964 and then as its first President from 1964 to his death in 1978. He was the country's first indigenous ...
, in the same night. On one side of this monument is a statue of soldiers raising the Kenyan flag.
* A fountain celebrating "Twenty-Five years of Uhuru – peace, love and unity monument".
References