At exactly 12.25 pm, the sea of humanity gathered at the Nyeri Governor’s office grounds and broke into dance, celebrating after Truphena Muthoni inscribed her name on the Guinness World record after hugging an indigenous tree for 72 hours in a stretch.
The 22-year-old environmentalist had previously set another record on February 2 this year, when she broke another record at the Michuki Memorial Park, Nairobi, when she hugged a tree for 48 hours and 22 minutes.
The only other person who has attempted a similar feat is Ghana’s Abdul Hakim Awal, who hugged a tree for 24 hours in Kumasi on May 23 this year.
Muthoni, who has now become a global celebrity, said one of the reasons for embarking on the tree-hugging challenge is to sensitise the world to the need to conserve indigenous forests, which she says are on the verge of extinction due to rampant logging.
She also warns that environmental degradation has contributed a great deal to an increase in mental health challenges in many countries and therefore the need to continue fighting for their preservation.
“I am a guardian of the forest and an advocate of indigenous people. I am here in Nyeri at the office of the Governor, to set a new 72 hours breaking my own world record. The reason for hugging trees is therapeutical because we have many mental health issues in the world that are directly linked with environmental degradation. I am inviting everyone to go back to nature because it has a healing effect. I believe before we plant a million trees, we have a million hurting hearts that need to be nurtured,” she told the press, a few hours before she finished her challenge.
Immediately after completing the rare feat, Governor Dr Mutahi Kahiga hailed Muthoni as the new heroine in Nyeri, after having put the County on the world map.
Dr Kahiga said accomplishing the goal of setting the new record was no mean feat, but one that required utmost endurance and disciplined resilience.
“Our hero of the day has done it! Truphena Muthoni has successfully completed her 72-hour tree-hugging challenge at the Nyeri Governor’s Office Grounds. We are all deeply proud and profoundly moved. It is a feeling beyond simple description, a blend of awe, admiration, and renewed conviction. Her determination calls on all of us to stand boldly for the causes we believe in, just as she has done with an unwavering heart, “he posted on his official facebook page.
“Muthoni’s accomplishment is more than a world record; it is a statement. A reminder that courage does not always roar — sometimes, it simply holds on, hour after hour, because the mission matters. It is what this deed represented, and the lessons therein are for all of us who have been remarkably moved and inspired by Muthoni. Congratulations, Truphena Muthoni. You have inspired an entire generation and made Nyeri, Kenya and Africa proud.”
Immediately after she accomplished her goal, Muthoni, who hails from Mathira, was wheeled into a waiting ambulance and rushed to the Nyeri County Referral Hospital for a medical checkup.
She was later driven to the Kamukunji Grounds for a heroine’s reception by a jubilant crowd that was attending the final day of the Nyeri Inaugural Youth Summit.
By Samuel Maina
