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Daily Nation Jeff Otieno Nairobi
The
Government authorised the transfer of the 'Millennium Man'
fossils from Kenya to France, says the Community Museums
of Kenya.
The
NGO's director, Mr Eustace Gitonga, said the exportation,
which had elicited complaints from some archeologists, was
authorised by Research and Technology Minister Henry Kosgey.
"The
fossils were transfered to France for scanning. They are
now back in the country and are safe and sound," Mr
Gitonga said in a reply to the National Museums of Kenya
officials, who had wanted to know who authorised the transfer
of the remains - said to be the oldest in the world - to
France.
The
director general of NMK, Dr George Abungu, had earlier condemned
the transfer, saying his institution, which is the custodian
of the country's cultural and national heritage, did not
authorise exportation or transfer of any fossils from Kenya
to France.
"Not
only did the organisation not authorise the exportation,
it did not process any applications for exploration/excavation
permit for the researchers who discovered the remains of
a primate said to be related to modern man," he said
in a statement.
The
six million-year-old fossils were unveiled in France last
week and had been at the centre of a controversy, pitting
rival archeologists.
Mr Gitonga
said his organisation did not need authorisation from NMK
to explore, excavate or export fossils "as we were
a registered at par with NMK".
All
archeological artefacts or palaeontological fossils found
or excavated in Kenya are protected by the Antiquities and
Monuments Act.
The
Kapsomin fossils, Mr Gitonga said, were taken to France's
Pasteur Institute in Toulouse for further analysis.
"The
Institute has the best scanner in the world and we wanted
to study the inside of the remains without breaking the
fossils and they are now back in the country," Mr Gitonga
said.
The
13-piece remains, which were dug up at Kapsomin and other
localities in the Tugen Hills, consist of jaws, isolated
upper and lower teeth, arm, leg and finger-bones.
The
discovery of the fossils was made public at a Nairobi hotel
late last year in a function attended by Baringo North MP
Andrew Kiptoon, in whose constituency they were found.
The
Kapsomin-fossils were unearthed by a group of French scientists
in collaboration with the Community Museums of Kenya, headed
by Mr Gitonga.
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