Nyeri: At exactly 12.25 pm, a crowd gathered at the Nyeri Governor’s office grounds erupted into dance and celebration as Truphena Muthoni inscribed her name into the Guinness World Records by hugging an indigenous tree for 72 consecutive hours.
According to Kenya News Agency, the 22-year-old environmentalist previously set another record on February 2 this year at the Michuki Memorial Park in Nairobi, where 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, now a global celebrity, stated that one of her reasons for embarking on the tree-hugging challenge was to raise awareness about the need to conserve indigenous forests, which she warns are on the verge of extinction due to rampant logging. She also highlighted that environmental degradation has significantly contributed to mental health challenges worldwide.
Expressing her thoughts a few hours before com
pleting the challenge, Muthoni said, “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.”
Upon completion, Governor Dr. Mutahi Kahiga praised Muthoni as a new heroine in Nyeri, celebrating her achievement as a significant milestone that required endurance and 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. H
er 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.
Dr. Kahiga continued, “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.”
After achieving her goal, Muthoni, who is from Mathira, was taken 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 attending the final day of the Nyeri Inaugural Youth Summit.
