Truphena Muthoni successfully completed her 72-hour tree-hugging marathon outside the Nyeri Governor’s Office on Wednesday afternoon, smashing her own Guinness World Record of 48 hours and turning a quiet mugumo tree on Baden-Powell Road into Kenya’s most famous environmental protest site for three straight days.
The 22-year-old activist from Mathira began the challenge on Monday, December 8, and only let go of the tree at 12 pm today, Wednesday, December 11, after 72 continuous hours of hugging, sleeping while strapped to the trunk, and singing freedom songs with supporters. Guinness adjudicators monitored the attempt remotely via live stream and confirmed the new record at 2:17 pm, making Muthoni the first person on earth to hug a tree non-stop for three full days.
Crowds that started as a handful of curious boda boda riders on day one swelled to thousands by the final day. Women from Gichira, Karatina and Nyeri town arrived singing “Truphena ni shujaa wetu” while schoolchildren waved homemade placards reading “Hug a Tree, Save Our Future.” Even county askaris who initially tried to disperse the gathering ended up joining the vigil, supplying water and biscuits.
In an emotional speech minutes after unstrapping herself, Muthoni, voice hoarse but eyes bright, thanked Nyeri residents, her mother who camped under the tree the entire time, and the online community that supported them morally and financially. “This was never about clout. This was for our indigenous trees, our indigenous communities, and my brothers and sisters living with disabilities. We did it together,” she said before bursting into tears.
Truphena Muthoni Rewards
Surprises kept coming. Popular Tiktoker Damaris wa Dama Spares drove in with a brand-new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and handed Muthoni a dummy cheque for Ksh1 million courtesy of betting firm OdiBets. Adequate Safaris, a travel and tour company, has offered her a fully paid three-night holiday in Mombasa. “She is our daughter; we love her,” Damaris announced as the crowd erupted. Githunguri MP Gathoni Wamuchomba had pledged a one-year supply of sanitary towels if the record was broken.
Muthoni also revealed she hugged the tree blindfolded for three hours on Tuesday night to highlight challenges faced by visually impaired Kenyans, an act that left many onlookers in tears. Despite earlier dismissal by some NTV presenters who called the challenge “attention-seeking”, Kenyans online fiercely defended her, pushing #TruphenaIsKenya to global trending.
The activist used the platform to call out the Ministry of Environment for ignoring her previous letters requesting protection for indigenous forests in Mt Kenya and Aberdares. “They never replied, not even once. Maybe now they will listen,” she said.
Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga, who visited on the final day, promised to plant 72,000 indigenous trees in 2026 in her honour and gazette the specific mugumo trees countywide as protected heritage sites. As dusk fell, Muthoni was carried shoulder-high by jubilant youth chanting “Baby Top! Baby Top!” while the sacred tree she embraced now wears a bright new ribbon reading “World Record Tree – Hugged for 72 Hours by Truphena Muthoni.”
From a lone girl with a dream to a national symbol of resilience, Truphena Muthoni has shown Kenya that sometimes the strongest way to speak for nature is simply to hold on, literally, for dear life.
