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You haven’t truly arrived in Nairobi until your journey ends here.
Many visitors—and even locals—don’t consider their trip to Kenya’s capital city complete until they visit one of its most overlooked landmarks: Point Zero.
Located at the junction of Koinange Street and Kenyatta Avenue, this modest monument is far more than a stone in the cityscape. Known also as the Nairobi Military Stone, Point Zero marks the historic spot from which all road distances from Nairobi were traditionally measured. In many ways, it is the heart of Kenya’s transportation history.
In 1926, Lionel Douglas Galton-Fenzi, a British settler, motoring pioneer, and founder of the Royal East Africa Automobile Association (now the Automobile Association of Kenya), placed a stone at this very location before embarking on a daring journey: the first-ever drive from Nairobi to Mombasa in a Riley car. This was a monumental feat at a time when motorable roads were virtually nonexistent in Kenya.
Following his death in 1937, a monument was erected in his honor in 1939 at the site, celebrating his achievements and contribution to the development of road travel in the region. The AA Kenya he founded in 1919 still operates today, offering essential services like driver training, insurance, and road safety advocacy.
But despite its deep historical roots, Point Zero remains misunderstood by many Nairobians. Over time, myths and misconceptions have crept in. Some deeply religious residents mistakenly view the monument as a site of satanic worship, often avoiding it or rejecting any conversation about it as “devilish.”
This couldn’t be further from the truth.
Point Zero is not a shrine to superstition—it is a monument to progress. It represents a pivotal moment in Kenya’s journey toward modern transportation and connectivity. Although the original stone placed by Galton-Fenzi now resides inside the nearby Nairobi Gallery, the monument outside still stands as the official spot from which distances across East Africa were once measured. Its location was slightly adjusted to accommodate the gallery museum, but its meaning remains intact.
So next time you’re passing by on your way to GPO, pause for a moment. Look at the stone that started it all. Thanks to a recent refurbishment by the Nairobi County Government, this historic landmark is once again beginning to catch the attention it so rightly deserves.
Let’s rewrite the narrative—not with fear and fiction, but with facts and pride. This is not a site of worship, satanic or otherwise. It is a symbol of how far we’ve come—literally and figuratively.
Story by Burton, Special Features Writer at GoodmoryKenya News, based in Vihiga and traveling extensively across Kenya to bring untold stories to light.
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