The very mentioning of the words Ark of the Covenant evokes different reactions to different people. The internet is rife with literature of scholars and historians who have devoted their life time in research aimed at unraveling the mystery of the disappearance of the treasured chest, that is said to contain the two stone tablets, that God ordered Moses to prepare, after emotionally breaking the original ones.

It is on the latter tablets that God, inscribed the Ten Commandments, using His own hand. The tablets were put in a chest, whose dimensions were precise, given to Moses by God in person as explained in the book of exodus 25; 9 – 10. Scholars are able to trace the whereabouts of the chest until about 600 BC. The chest is said to possess mysterious power. When it was carried by the Israelites, they enjoyed special powers and protection as the Holy Scriptures explains. Joshua; 3; 15 -16 4; 7-18.

This brings us back to the question, does the Ark really exist? Would God allow such a coveted item to just disappear without trace? If it is holed up somewhere, would it still possess the mysterious power that it originally had?

According to a Unesco sunctioned research based in Kenya, whose findings have been shared with the locals through a weekly radio program, the Ark DOES EXIST INTACT. Indeed it has been in the country since the year 1210 when it was brought down from Ethiopia through the Kenyan coast. A replica of the chest was made at the Kenyan coast, but the original was carried up to Mt Kenya, where it has been held for all those years.

The communities living around the mountain, i.e. the Gikuyu, Embu and Meru called the mountain Kirinyaga which translates to the seat of God. Many of them know that the mountain has a special link with God and that when you pray facing the mountain which was their way of worship for generations, before the onset of Christianity, God always answered their prayers promptly.

Indeed when the accredited elders set to go up the mountain to intercede to God on behalf of the communities during prolonged drought, it is said that they always came down in heavy downpour. That used to happen often after every couple of years.

What most members of the communities living today have learnt from the program is that there existed a covenant of the above mentioned communities with God, to re-affirm their commitment to Him after every fifty years. That used to happen consistently until the year 1928 when the British colonizers enforced laws that denied the Gikuyu, Embu and Meru communities to worship in the Mt Kenya forest, or even while facing it, terming the customs as backward and uncivilized.

However, community members have been urged to revisit the customs, by fasting and repenting in an preparation for major reconciliation with God. The climax is scheduled to be between 20th and 23rd Nov. 2007. Then all businesses from the enterprising members of the communities will be suspended. All the people have been asked to pray and remain in their homes for three days. On the 24th, they are meant to make peace with their neighbors by sharing meals as a symbol of reconciliation. On the 25th, the elders will send a representative to address a press conference and explain what was happening in the three special days. It in this conference that it’s expected that for the first time ever, the residents of Kenya will make it public that indeed they are the custodians of the Original Ark of the Covenant.

This is one occasion that religious scholars from all over the world cannot afford to miss. Indeed the sequence of events is closely being monitored from all over the world. Although the program is presented in the Gikuyu dialect, the presenter keeps telling the listener that he is aware of individuals who have learnt the language purposely to be part of the on goings.

The ‘spies’, are mainly drawn from the USA, Britain and Israel. Whatever happens in the three days, there will be events with far reaching historical and religious implications that are likely to spark off not just debate worldwide, but much more interest in Mt. Kenya, and Kenya as a country.

We shall keep you posted on what transpires in the three days, and update on the press conference. Watch this space.