.png)
Who is the First Tanzanian to Climb Kilimanjaro?
His name was Yohani Kinyala Lauwo. He was 18 years old, a Chagga army scout from Marangu, and on 5 October 1889 he stood on the summit of Africa — not as a porter, not as a footnote, but as the first Tanzanian and first African ever to reach Uhuru Peak.
When history books recount the first ascent of Mount Kilimanjaro, they almost invariably mention two names: Hans Meyer, the German geographer, and Ludwig Purtscheller, the Austrian mountaineer, who together reached the summit on 6 October 1889. But these two men were not alone. Beside them — and often ahead of them, cutting a path through thick montane forest with a panga and a stick, wearing no shoes and wrapped only in a blanket against the bone‑piercing cold — was an 18‑year‑old Chagga army scout from the village of Marangu named Yohani Kinyala Lauwo. He was the first Tanzanian to stand on the roof of Africa. He was also, by every reasonable measure, the first African to do so. And he would go on to guide climbers on Kilimanjaro for more than seventy years, living to the astonishing age of 124. This is the story that Hans Meyer's biography never told — the story of the Tanzanian who conquered his own mountain long before any European came looking for glory.
I. The Chagga People and the Mountain They Already Knew
To understand who was the first Tanzanian to climb Kilimanjaro, one must first understand that the mountain was never truly "unclimbed." The Chagga people — Bantu‑speaking agriculturalists who began settling on Kilimanjaro's fertile volcanic slopes at least five or six hundred years ago — had been ascending its lower and middle reaches for centuries before any European laid eyes on the snow cap. They climbed to gather honey from forest beehives, to hunt monkeys and forest elephants, and to collect medicinal plants found only at higher altitudes. The mountain was not a wilderness to them; it was home. Its highest peak, Kibo, was considered the dwelling place of Ruwa, the supreme deity, and its permanent snow was seen as a divine substance.
One notable pre‑colonial climber was Chief Kivoi Mwendwa, a Kamba trader from what is now Kenya, who is recorded in oral traditions and early written histories as having climbed Kilimanjaro and led large caravans before European colonisation. He stands as evidence that Africans — and specifically East Africans — had the capacity, knowledge, and motivation to climb the mountain long before the colonial era. But the question of who was the first Tanzanian to reach the summit — Uhuru Peak — has a specific, documented answer: Yohani Kinyala Lauwo.
II. The Historic Ascent: 5 October 1889
The story of how Yohani Kinyala Lauwo came to guide Hans Meyer to the summit is, by his own account, a matter of chance. In 1889, the 18‑year‑old Lauwo was in Moshi seeking work when he encountered a European man and his companions with luggage. The European — Hans Meyer — was looking for a Dutch doctor who had established himself on the slopes of Kibo. When Lauwo and a fellow scout named Jonathan Mtui (who has since died) led the party to the doctor, Meyer revealed his true purpose: he needed men to escort him to the top of the mountain. The Chagga chief (Mangi) selected Lauwo for the task.
The climb was, by Lauwo's own description, "horrifying." The mountain was veiled in thick forest, and they had to use pangas (machetes) and sticks to cut their way through. Wild animals — elephants, leopards, and wild dogs — roamed freely on the slopes, a stark contrast to today's relatively tame trekking environment. Lauwo wore no shoes; his only protection against the cold was a shirt and a blanket. The journey took eight days, and he received three and a half rupees for his labour.
On 5 October 1889, the party reached the highest point of Kibo. Meyer, in his account, named the peak Kaiser‑Wilhelm‑Spitze (Kaiser Wilhelm Peak) in honour of the German emperor. The summit would retain this colonial name until 1964, when the newly formed United Republic of Tanzania renamed it Uhuru Peak — "Freedom Peak" in Swahili. But for Lauwo, this was not a first ascent. He later revealed that he had already attempted to reach the summit nine times before guiding Meyer. On his ninth attempt, he finally discovered the crater — the defining geological feature of Kibo's summit. This means that Lauwo had, in all likelihood, reached the summit on his own before any European ever did.
III. The Life of Mzee Lauwo: Seventy Years on the Mountain
Yohani Kinyala Lauwo did not simply guide one expedition and retreat into obscurity. Following the historic 1889 ascent, he continued to climb Kilimanjaro for more than seven decades. He is reported to have summited Kibo three times by the outbreak of World War I in 1914. He worked as a professional mountain guide in Marangu until the 1950s, leading his last expedition when he was approximately 70 years old. He taught generations of young Tanzanian guides the routes, the dangers, and the rhythms of the mountain that he knew better than anyone alive.
In the late 1980s, as preparations began for the centenary of the first recorded European ascent, a committee was formed to identify and honour the African guides and porters who had accompanied Meyer and Purtscheller. Studying old photographs and historical documents, the committee concluded that Yohani Kinyala Lauwo was almost certainly one of those men. Remarkably, Lauwo was still alive, living quietly in Marangu with his two wives. The committee located him and awarded him a certificate of recognition. In 1989, to mark the 100th anniversary of the climb, the West German government built him a house. In 1971, TANAPA had already given him a home in Marangu to mark what was believed to be his 100th birthday, though his exact birth year has never been verified.
His longevity became legendary. Lauwo is believed to have been born around 1871 and died on 10 May 1996, reaching an age of approximately 124 or 125 years. When journalists and historians came to interview him in his later years, the old man — now universally known as Mzee Lauwo (respected elder) — was reportedly perplexed by the sudden interest in something he had done as a teenager and long since regarded as unremarkable. He did not even remember the exact year of his birth.
IV. The Lauwo Legacy: A Living Dynasty on Kilimanjaro
The story of Yohani Kinyala Lauwo is not merely historical — it continues in the present day. His grandson, Samson Lauwo, works as a chief guide on Kilimanjaro, leading climbers up the same mountain his grandfather first conquered. The family has become something of a guiding dynasty, with multiple generations having worked on the mountain that bears their imprint. Johannes' Notch — a distinctive feature on the mountain — was named by Hans Meyer in honour of his young guide (Yohani being the Swahili form of Johannes). It is a rare instance of a European explorer acknowledging, in stone, the contribution of an African guide.
At the entrance to Kilimanjaro National Park at Marangu Gate, a memorial plaque commemorates Lauwo's contribution. He is officially recognised by Tanzanian authorities as the first Tanzanian to reach the summit, and his name appears in multiple official park histories. The path he pioneered — what is now the Marangu Route — remains one of the most popular climbing routes on the mountain.
V. The Controversy: Was He Truly the First?
No historical claim of this nature goes entirely unchallenged. Some historians and tour operators have questioned whether Lauwo was truly the first Tanzanian at the summit. Altezza Travel, for instance, has argued: "In most sources, you can find the name Yohani Kinyala Lauwo. Allegedly, he was the first Tanzanian to reach the summit of Kilimanjaro. We believe this is not true and is refuted by simple logic." Their argument rests on two points: first, that Chagga hunters and gatherers had almost certainly reached the summit in the centuries before Lauwo, even if their achievements were never recorded; and second, that the age calculations for Lauwo — requiring him to be 124 or 125 at his death — strain credulity and cast doubt on whether the elderly man identified by the centenary committee was truly the same person who guided Meyer.
These are legitimate scholarly questions. But they do not diminish Lauwo's significance. Whether or not anonymous Chagga hunters preceded him, Yohani Kinyala Lauwo is the first named, documented Tanzanian to have stood on the summit of Kilimanjaro. His account of the climb — the thick forest, the wild animals, the eight‑day duration, the three‑and‑a‑half rupee payment, the bare feet and the single blanket — matches the known historical record of Meyer's expedition with a vividness that mere coincidence cannot explain. The Tanzanian government, the centenary committee, and multiple independent historical sources have all accepted his identity and his place in history.
VI. Notable Tanzanian Climbers After Lauwo
Lauwo was the first, but he was far from the last. The history of Tanzanians climbing their own mountain is rich and varied. Bertha Mwitula, a 14‑year‑old high school girl, climbed Kilimanjaro in 1967 in search of "living flowers" (flowers that do not dry) found at a certain altitude as you ascend. Her daughter, Rahel Mwitula Williams, later documented her own Kilimanjaro journey in a YouTube documentary, inspired by her father — who had been at Uhuru Peak on the day she was born, undertaking mandatory military training that required Tanzanian youth with higher education to climb the mountain.
More recently, Rawan Dakik became the first Tanzanian to complete the Seven Summits — the highest peaks on all seven continents — and the first Tanzanian woman to summit Mount Everest (8,850 m). Her journey began on the slopes of Kilimanjaro, which she has climbed more than five times. As Tanzania's Tourism Ambassador, she represents a new generation of Tanzanian mountaineers who stand on the shoulders of Yohani Kinyala Lauwo, whether they know his name or not.
What People Often Ask About the First Tanzanian on Kilimanjaro
Who was the first Tanzanian to climb Kilimanjaro?
Yohani Kinyala Lauwo (also known as Johannes Kinyala Lauwo or Mzee Lauwo), a Chagga army scout from Marangu, reached the summit on 5 October 1889 at approximately 18 years old, guiding Hans Meyer and Ludwig Purtscheller.
Did Lauwo climb Kili before the Europeans?
Yes. He later revealed that he had attempted the climb nine times before guiding Meyer. On his ninth attempt, he discovered the crater — meaning he had likely already reached the summit on his own.
How long did Mzee Lauwo live?
He is believed to have lived to 124 or 125 years old. Born around 1871, he died on 10 May 1996. TANAPA built him a house in 1971, and the West German government built him another in 1989.
Is there any controversy about him being first?
Some historians argue that anonymous Chagga hunters reached the summit centuries earlier. Others question whether the elderly man found in 1989 was truly the same Lauwo. But he remains the first named, documented Tanzanian at the summit.
Who are other notable Tanzanian climbers?
Bertha Mwitula climbed Kilimanjaro in 1967 at age 14. Rawan Dakik became the first Tanzanian to complete the Seven Summits (all seven continents) and the first Tanzanian woman to summit Mount Everest.
What is Lauwo's connection to the Marangu Route?
Lauwo lived his entire life in Marangu. The route he pioneered became the Marangu Route. His grandson, Samson Lauwo, works as a chief guide on Kilimanjaro today — a living dynasty.
VII. Final Verdict: A Name That Deserves to Be Remembered
When you climb Kilimanjaro today — whether via Marangu, Machame, Lemosho, or any other route — you are walking in the footsteps of Yohani Kinyala Lauwo. The path he cut through the forest with a panga in 1889 is, in essence, the same path that tens of thousands of climbers now follow each year. The mountain has changed — the glaciers have retreated, the elephants have largely vanished from the slopes, and the thick forest has been tamed into well‑marked trails — but the fundamental challenge remains the same. And the first Tanzanian to meet that challenge was not a famous explorer or a wealthy adventurer. He was an 18‑year‑old army scout, barefoot and wrapped in a blanket, who was paid three and a half rupees for eight days of "horrifying" labour — and who, in doing so, made history that the world is only now beginning to properly acknowledge.