State House Violated: Iconic Colonial Masterpiece Desecrated in Expensive Renovations
Renovations have been carried out in many State Houses and Presidential Palaces around the world. But they all have one thing in common – they all come out looking the same… at least on the external façade.
Enter Kenya.
Designed in 1925 by Sir Herbet Baker to replace the old Government House, the new Government house was a masterpiece that has never been violated by any of our past 4 presidents, and the numerous colonial rulers.
When the current president was elected, he ordered massive renovations at the property, but few imagined that the external look would be so severely violated. Close to 2 billion spent for this.
Gone are the striking red bricks, replaced with an ushamba, soulless flat roof design that no one asked for. In a rush to have central columns, the Kamulu-based architect hired forgot that you need a door for that. Instead we get a shoddily done afterthought.
State House Nairobi may not be in the top 10 of Sir Herbet Baker’s most impressive buildings, but he sure as hell is rolling in his grave at this great injustice.
His other projects in Kenya include State House Mombasa, Kenya Railway Headquarters, Nairobi School and Muthaiga Club.
Giving his reason for building the new Government House in his memoirs, Governor Edward Griggs said that Kenya “deserved and needed beauty and dignity”. Today, Kenya gets a hideous tragedy.
A grotesque error in judgement that is sadly nothing new for this president.
Posting on X, prolific journalist John Kamau said, “Gone is a heritage, an insult to history, and it makes no sense. We have grabbed our national heritage and violated it. I never thought we could go this low. I am sad.”
Here are some of Sir Baker’s most celebrated works.
| Project | Location | Year(s) Completed | Key Features / Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Union Buildings | Pretoria, South Africa | 1910–1913 | Iconic government seat; symmetrical wings; sandstone façade; a symbol of South African governance. |
| 2. Secretariat Buildings (North & South Block) | New Delhi, India | 1912–1930 (approx.) | Part of India’s administrative center; collaboration with Edwin Lutyens; notable mix of classical and Indo-Saracenic design elements. |
| 3. Parliament House (Council House) | New Delhi, India | 1921–1927 (opened 1927) | Designed in partnership with Lutyens; circular colonnaded structure; houses India’s two-tier parliamentary chambers. |
| 4. Rhodes House | Oxford, UK | 1926–1929 | Built for the Rhodes Trust; prominent dome; classical Oxford stonework; home to archives and a famous library. |
| 5. Neuve-Chapelle Indian Memorial | Neuve-Chapelle, France | 1927 | Commemorates Indian soldiers of WWI; blends Indo-European motifs; set in a formal memorial garden. |
| 6. Rhodes Memorial | Cape Town, South Africa | 1906–1912 | Monument honoring Cecil Rhodes; grand colonnade and statue; offers panoramic views of the city. |
| 7. Rand Regiments Memorial | Johannesburg, South Africa | 1911 (unveiled) | War memorial honoring local regiments; classical design motifs with large-scale sculptures. |
| 8. War Cloister, Winchester College | Winchester, UK | 1922–1924 | Memorial cloister for WWI fallen; arcaded quadrangle with carved stone inscriptions; reflective, solemn design. |
| 9. St Andrew’s College Chapel | Makhanda (Grahamstown), S.A. | 1913–1915 (approx.) | Neo-Gothic style in local stone; a central religious building on campus showcasing Baker’s meticulous proportions. |
| 10. Groote Schuur (Restoration) | Cape Town, South Africa | 1893 (restoration) | Originally a 17th-century estate; restored for Cecil Rhodes; set the stage for Baker’s hallmark use of local materials and Cape vernacular. |
Well, with Engineers like Sudi, who needs Baker.
For the president, I think I speak for all Kenyans when I say you should stop having ideas. Or at least run them through someone first.
Also, you have horrible taste that should be nowhere near the room where design decisions are made.
The next occupier of State House should be made to revert it back to its original look, as a matter of historical significance. And parliament should come up with a law to protect national historic landmarks… oh wait, there’s the National Museums and Heritage Act.
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