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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