In pre-colonial days, Muranga went by the name Fort Hall - after Frank Hall who worked for the Imperial British East Africa Company. Long before the British landed, it used to answer to the name Mbiri. Here, at a place called Mukurwe wa Nyagathanga, the Kikuyu trace their origin.
The Kikuyu, are said to have been founded by a man called Gikūyu. Ngai, the Kikuyu god, took Gikuyu to the top of Kirinyaga and gave him, Mumbi, his wife.
