PCEA Riruta and PCEA Waithaka Parishes both trace their roots to a single 1938 mission effort by the Mbagathi Kirksession, which built a grass-thatched school-and-church at Mukuyu near Lenana High School. That first building burned down within a year, but the work it started continued — first at Riruta, then at a new site in Waithaka in 1957 — eventually growing into the two separate parishes known today. PCEA Riruta now also hosts the Presbytery’s own offices, at PCEA Riruta Satellite Church.
Two of PCEA Milimani South Presbytery’s eight parishes — Riruta and Waithaka — did not start out as two separate works at all. They began as one effort, in one place, before circumstances and growth eventually carried them in their own directions. This is the story of how that happened.
A Shared Root at Mukuyu, 1938
In 1938, the Mbagathi Kirksession met at Ruthimitu and made a decision: to extend the work of the Gospel into Riruta. The Kirksession secured a plot at Mukuyu, near what is today Lenana High School, and set about building. Boys from Ruthimitu School did the actual construction, putting up a simple grass-thatched building. That structure served a double purpose — it was both a school and, on Sundays, a church, with members using its classrooms for worship.
The Headmaster of Ruthimitu School, the late Robert Kariu Kirina, was placed in charge of the new school as well, and some of its pupils were already attending Sunday school back at Ruthimitu Church — a sign of how closely the new Riruta outpost remained tied to its parent congregation in its earliest days.
That first building did not last. In 1939, within a year of being built, it was burned down by unknown people. It is a detail the Presbytery’s own records state plainly, without further explanation of who was responsible or why — a reminder that this congregation’s history did not begin smoothly.
A New Beginning at Waithaka, 1957
The work did not end with the fire, but it took nearly two decades for the next major step to be recorded. In 1957, the Thogoto Kirk Session identified a plot at a place called “Mithonge” in Waithaka and decided to build a church there. Members donated iron sheets for the roof, and — in an echo of how the original Mukuyu building had gone up — children from Ruthimitu School again assisted with the construction.
Over time, the congregations rooted in this shared 1938–1957 history grew into the two parishes recognized today: PCEA Riruta Parish and PCEA Waithaka Parish, each now an independent parish within PCEA Milimani South Presbytery, with its own leadership and its own congregations.
The Two Parishes Today
| Parish | Congregations |
|---|---|
| PCEA Riruta Parish | PCEA Riruta Satellite Church, PCEA Tumaini Church |
| PCEA Waithaka Parish | PCEA Mukarara Church, PCEA Mugumo-ini Church, PCEA Ugooci Church |
PCEA Riruta Parish carries a distinction beyond its own congregational life: PCEA Riruta Satellite Church is where the Presbytery’s own offices are physically located, making this parish, in a practical sense, the administrative home of PCEA Milimani South Presbytery as a whole.
Why This History Matters
It would be easy to read the 1938 fire as simply a setback. Read against what came next — a new building at Waithaka less than twenty years later, and two functioning parishes with five congregations between them today — it reads more like a pattern that recurs throughout this Presbytery’s story: a small, often difficult beginning, followed by deliberate rebuilding and steady growth. The same pattern shows up in the Presbytery’s wider numbers, which have grown from seven parishes at its 2013 founding to eight today.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are PCEA Riruta and PCEA Waithaka Parishes connected historically?
Both trace back to a single 1938 mission outpost built by the Mbagathi Kirksession at Mukuyu, near Lenana High School. That original work eventually grew into two separate parishes — Riruta and Waithaka.
What happened to the first church building at Mukuyu?
It was a grass-thatched school-and-church building, built in 1938 by Ruthimitu School children. It burned down in 1939, less than a year after it was built.
Where are PCEA Milimani South Presbytery’s offices located?
At PCEA Riruta Satellite Church, in PCEA Riruta Parish.
Final Thoughts
The story of Riruta and Waithaka is, in miniature, the story of this whole Presbytery: a modest beginning, a setback, and steady rebuilding into something larger. Today, that shared 1938 root has grown into two parishes and five congregations, anchored by a building that also happens to house the Presbytery’s own administrative home.
Want to Visit or Connect with Riruta Parish?
Reach out to the Presbytery office — based at PCEA Riruta Satellite Church — to learn more.
Historical details in this article are drawn from PCEA Milimani South Presbytery’s own published parish records. Compiled by the Editorial Desk.