Terms and Conditions

Read this first: the rules that apply to every booking and purchase

The posted departure time, closing time and leaving time are the times you follow. They change only when Mugo changes them, or when weather or another natural cause forces it, and Mugo may tell you by phone, in the excursion group or simply by word of mouth on the day, because he is already with the party in the field.
Once you have booked and paid, you may not abandon the excursion at the last minute and ask for a refund. When the party is assembled and ready to board, or it is within forty-eight hours of the posted departure, a refund is refused. Do not expect Mugo to resell your seat or to move your booking to the next excursion.
Do not post a false claim about an excursion, a book or any purchase, before or after it. If it is meant to damage the name of Mugo wa Njoroge or to gain by pretence, it will be taken to the Kenyan courts.
An unpaid booking holds its seats for twelve hours. No new booking is taken on the excursion day or the day before. After the hold runs out the seats go back on sale unless the payment has been confirmed.
A private excursion is not the public trip. It is agreed inside a members Telegram channel, it is not posted on this site, and it has its own price. Membership is 250 KES a month.

Welcome to Mugo wa Njoroge. These Terms govern your use of the platform, your bookings on excursions, your membership of the private circle and what you buy from the shelf. By using the platform you confirm that you have read them and agree to be bound by them.

1. Posted excursion times

Every excursion has a posted departure time, a closing time and a leaving time. Those times are part of the booking. You are expected to be at the meeting point at the departure time, to stay with the programme until it closes, and to leave when the party leaves.

Mugo may change a posted time. He is not required to announce a change in writing or in the excursion group first: he may tell guests through the contact details they gave, in the excursion group, or orally on the day, because something can come up in the field while the party is already together and he is there with them. A time may also move because of weather, a road closure, a security advisory or another natural cause. A guest does not change a time by arriving late or by asking the group to wait.

A guest who misses the departure because they arrived after the posted time has not been abandoned. The booking is treated as used, and the no-refund rule below applies.

2. No last-minute abandonment

A paid booking is a seat that other people are counting on. Once you have booked and paid, you may not abandon the excursion at the last minute and then demand a refund.

A refund request is refused when the party is already assembled and ready to board, and also within forty-eight hours of the posted departure. By then the outsourced transport, the guide, the entry fees and the other seats have usually been committed about two days before the trip. A last-minute change of mind is a loss to the trip and to the name of the platform, and it is not repaid. The refusal is recorded, and the booking stays yours.

Do not expect Mugo to sell your seat to someone else or to transfer your booking to the next excursion. Moving to another date is possible only when Mugo agrees, well before that window opens.

The site takes bookings up to two calendar days before the trip, so a seat booked on the last day it is on sale is already inside the forty-eight hours. Pay only when you are sure you will travel.

An unpaid booking can always be cancelled, and the seats are released. A paid booking made well before that window can be sent to Mugo for review. A review is not a promise of a refund. When a refund is approved, it is returned by M-Pesa or I&M Bank.

3. No false claims

Do not publish a false statement about an excursion, a book, a payment or any other purchase or interaction on this platform. That covers a claim made before the trip or the sale and a claim made after it, whenever the aim is to damage the reputation of Mugo wa Njoroge, to obtain a refund or other gain by pretence, or to pretend that something was supplied, paid for or agreed when it was not.

Freedom of expression is protected by Article 33 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010. Article 33(3) adds that, in exercising it, every person must respect the rights and reputation of others. A false statement that injures reputation can be sued on as a civil claim for damages under the Defamation Act, Cap. 36. Criminal libel under section 194 of the Penal Code was held unconstitutional in 2017, and these Terms do not rely on it.

Where a false pretence is used to obtain money, a seat, a book or anything else capable of being stolen, that conduct can be an offence under section 313 of the Penal Code, Cap. 63 (obtaining by false pretences), read with section 312. We may report it to the police.

Mugo wa Njoroge holds itself to the same standard. The Consumer Protection Act, 2012 forbids a supplier from making false or misleading representations, and Article 46 of the Constitution protects every consumer. Nothing in these Terms limits a right that law gives you. If something went wrong, say so through the contact details below and it will be looked at fairly; an honest complaint is never a false claim.

Where a false claim is found to be meant to harm this platform or to gain by pretence, we will take it to court and ask for damages and costs.

4. Seat holds and payment

A booking holds its seats for twelve hours while it waits for the deposit. If the payment is not confirmed in that time, the seats are released and the booking is cancelled. If your money arrives after that, Mugo will take the seats again if they are still free, and will otherwise return the payment to you by M-Pesa or I&M Bank.

No booking is taken on the excursion day or on the calendar day before it. In the rare case that bookings are still open closer to the date, you are expected to pay before 5 p.m. East Africa Time on the day you book.

Pay only to the Paybill number and account shown on the booking confirmation. Keep the M-Pesa message: the desk confirms a booking against that code. The balance is due as posted for the trip. Prices are in Kenya shillings.

The deposit is a payment towards your seat, not a reservation fee that can be traded for another date at the last minute. Moving to another date is possible only when Mugo agrees, before the last-minute window opens.

5. Private excursions

The public excursion is the dated trip published on this site. A private excursion is a separate visit. Its date, meeting point and site are agreed in a members Telegram channel. They are not posted on this website, in a public caption or anywhere else in public.

Membership of that channel is 250 Kenya shillings a month, paid to the same Paybill as the public trip. After Mugo confirms the payment, he adds the Telegram name you gave. The channel is not linked from this site, and a month that has ended is not renewed on its own.

A member may ask to be taken to a specific place in any county of Kenya: a freedom fighters site, a custom, a shrine, a court, a cave, or another trace of pre-colonial life. The price of that visit is agreed with Mugo for that visit. It is not the price on the public poster, and it is not shown on this website.

What is said in the private channel, and the sites agreed there, stay inside it. A member who publishes them, or who invites others in without Mugo agreeing, may be removed without a refund.

The posted times, the refusal of a last-minute refund and the rule against false claims apply to a private visit once a price has been agreed and paid.

6. Who the excursions are for

The excursions exist to study the history of Kenya and of African peoples on the ground: freedom fighters, culture, custom and the values of the communities that lived here before colonial rule. People of African descent, living in Kenya or abroad, are warmly welcome and are who the programme is built for.

Anyone else who joins agrees to these Terms, to learn respectfully and to treat the sites, the guides and the other guests with courtesy.

7. The African Heritage programme

Some trips are marked as part of the African Heritage programme. Such a trip is built around African heritage: its sites are chosen for what they hold of freedom fighters, custom, shrines and the values of the communities before colonial rule; elders and custodians of the places speak where they can; and Africans returning from abroad are welcomed home to the story.

A guest travelling from abroad gets a short briefing before the trip with the meeting point, what the entry fees cover, what to bring and how to pay in Kenya shillings. A guest should arrive with the travel documents, the health cover and the insurance their own journey needs; the briefing is help, not a guarantee of any visa or border decision.

The programme decides what is taught and where the party goes. It does not decide who may join. Every trip, heritage or not, is open to anyone who accepts these Terms.

The posted times, the refusal of a last-minute refund and the rule against false claims apply to a heritage trip in the same way as to any other.

8. Health, safety and children

Hikes and site visits are physical and can be muddy, steep or hot. Book only if you can take part safely, and tell Mugo before you pay about any condition that matters, such as a heart condition, asthma, an injury or a pregnancy. You take part at your own risk, and you are responsible for the things you bring.

Follow the guide. A guest who ignores safety instructions, wanders from the party or puts others at risk may be asked to leave without a refund. Travel and medical insurance is recommended.

A guest under 18 must travel with a parent or guardian, or with their written consent given to Mugo before the trip.

9. Conduct at the sites

Many of the places we visit are graves, memorials, shrines or national monuments. Treat them with respect.

Do not remove, move or damage anything at a site, including stones, bones, plants and objects.
Do not fly a drone or record in a way that the guide, the community or the site managers have not allowed.
Do not litter, make a fire or play loud music.
Alcohol and other intoxicating substances are not allowed on the trip.
Follow the rules of the park, the museum or the community that hosts the visit.

10. If Mugo changes or cancels a trip

Mugo may move or cancel a trip because of weather, road conditions, a security advisory, a site closing, too few guests or another cause outside his control. He will tell every booked guest as early as he can.

When Mugo cancels, or moves a trip to a date you cannot make, you may take a seat on the new date or ask for back what you paid for the part of the trip that was not delivered. That return is made by M-Pesa or I&M Bank. The last-minute rule above applies to a guest who chooses to leave; it does not apply to a trip that Mugo cancels.

11. Photos, video and the archive

Trips are photographed and filmed to build the Travelling Through History archive. By joining, you agree that you may appear in that material in groups. Tell the guide on the day if you do not want to be featured, and you will be left out of close-up shots.

Oral testimony recorded on a trip belongs to the person who gave it. It is used with their consent and with the credit they ask for.

12. Books and other purchases

Books on the shelf are sold in Kenya shillings. The price on the page is the price quoted, and an order is confirmed when Mugo confirms the copy in hand and how it reaches you. Payment is made before a copy is handed over or sent, using the details given when the order is confirmed.

If a copy arrives damaged, or is not the title you ordered, tell Mugo within seven days and it will be replaced or the price returned. Nothing in these Terms limits a right that the Consumer Protection Act, 2012 gives you.

The rule against false claims applies to every purchase made through this platform.

13. Acceptance of Terms

By using Mugo wa Njoroge ("the Platform", "we", "our" or "us"), you confirm that you are at least 13 years of age, that you have read and understood these Terms and Conditions ("Terms"), and that you agree to be bound by them, together with our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.

A booking or a private circle membership is stored only after you have read the excursion terms and accepted them for the version that is current on the day. If the Terms change, you accept the new version the next time you book.

14. Use of the Platform

Mugo wa Njoroge is a history platform: articles and oral-history notes, a book shelf sold from Kenya, and excursions under Travelling Through History. Your use of each is subject to these conditions:

You may use the Platform for lawful purposes only and in line with these Terms.
You are responsible for your conduct and for any content you submit, post or display on the Platform.
You may not use the Platform in any way that could disable, overburden, damage or impair the service.
You may not try to gain unauthorized access to any part of the Platform or its systems.
You may not use automated means to access the Platform without our written permission.

15. User Accounts

To use some features you may need an account. You must give accurate, current and complete information, and keep your credentials confidential. You are responsible for what happens under your account and must tell us at once if you suspect it has been used without your permission.

We may suspend or end an account that breaks these Terms, takes part in prohibited activity, or has been inactive for a long time.

16. Content and Intellectual Property

When you post a comment or other content ("User Content"), you keep the rights you already hold in it. You give us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to host, display and distribute it in connection with the Platform. You confirm that you own it or have the right to post it, and that it does not infringe anyone else's rights or contain unlawful, harmful or defamatory material.

Articles, photographs, recordings, book descriptions and the Travelling Through History archive belong to Mugo wa Njoroge or to the credited source. You may quote them with credit, but you may not copy or sell them without written permission. Book covers and extracts belong to their publishers and authors.

17. About the history we publish

This Platform publishes history, oral testimony and analysis, and some of it is contested. Articles name their sources and separate what the record shows from what people remember. We correct errors when they are shown to us; write to the contact address with the page and the correction.

Nothing published here is legal, medical or financial advice. Herbal and health titles on the shelf are for reading, not a substitute for a clinician.

18. Prohibited Activities

You agree not to do any of the following while using the Platform:

Post content that is unlawful, defamatory, abusive, threatening, harassing, hateful or that invades another person's privacy.
Infringe a patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other right of any person.
Upload malicious code, or anything meant to harm the Platform or its readers.
Collect other people's personal data without their consent.
Pretend to be another person or to be Platform staff.
Spam, phish or otherwise deceive.
Make a false claim about a trip or a purchase, as set out above.

19. Privacy and your personal data

We process personal data in line with the Data Protection Act, 2019. For a booking or a private circle membership we collect your name, phone number, optional email, the details of your emergency contact, the plan and seats you chose, your M-Pesa payment code and the version of the terms you accepted. We use them to run the trip, to keep you safe, to confirm payment and to keep the accounting records the law requires. We do not sell them.

Your emergency contact is shared only with the guide on the day, and only if it is needed. Details of private excursions and the sites members propose are kept off this website.

You may ask what we hold about you, ask us to correct it, object to a use of it or ask for it to be deleted, subject to the records we must keep by law. You may also complain to the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner. Write to the contact address below. Our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy give the detail.

20. Disclaimers and Limitation of Liability

The Platform is provided "as is" and "as available". We do not promise that it will be uninterrupted, error-free or free of harmful components, and you use it at your own risk.

To the extent the law allows, we are not liable for indirect, incidental, special or consequential loss arising from your use of the Platform. Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability that cannot lawfully be excluded, or any right you have under the Consumer Protection Act, 2012.

21. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms. When we make a material change we will say so on the Platform and change the date at the top of this page. A change in the excursion terms takes effect for bookings made after it, and each booking records the version that was accepted.

22. Termination

We may suspend or end your access to the Platform if you break these Terms, and a guest who breaks the conduct rules on a trip may be removed from it. You may close your account at any time by contacting us or using the account deletion option in your profile settings. Closing an account does not by itself remove content you published; you can ask separately for it to be removed.

23. Governing Law and Disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of Kenya, and the courts of Kenya have jurisdiction over any dispute about them, a booking or a purchase. Before going to court we ask that you write to us first, so the matter can be settled. Smaller money disputes can be taken to the Small Claims Court, as the law allows.

If any part of these Terms cannot be enforced, it is changed as little as needed to make it enforceable, and the rest stays in force.

24. Contact Us

If you have a question about these Terms, a booking or your personal data, write to travellingthroughhistoryke@gmail.com.