Dedan Kimathi

Dedan Kimathi Waciuri (October 31, 1920 – February 18, 1957) was a Kenyan rebel leader who fought against British colonization in Kenya in the 1950s. He was convicted and executed by the British colonial government. The British colonial government that ruled Kenya at the time considered him a terrorist, but many Kikuyu and other Kenyans viewed him as a freedom fighter of the Mau Mau Uprising.

Early life – Kimathi was born in Thenge Village Tetu division, Nyeri District. At the age of fifteen, he joined the local primary school, Karuna-ini, where he perfected his English skills. He would later use those language skills to write extensively before and during the uprising. He was a Debate Club member in his school. He was deeply religious and carried a Bible regularly. He worked for the forest department collecting tree seeds to help him foot his school bill. He later joined Tumutumu CSM School for his secondary learning, but dropped out for lack of funds.

He dabbled with several jobs but never felt fully settled. Notable was his enlisting with the army to fight in the Second World War in 1941. However, in 1944, he was expelled for misconduct. In 1946, he became a member of the Kenya African Union. In 1949, he started teaching at his old school Tumutumu, but left the job within two years.

Mau Mau movement – Nevertheless, he managed to be very influential to whomever he met through the string of jobs he was able to obtain. He became radically political in 1950. He involved himself with the Mau Mau, and later that year administered the oath of the Mau Mau, making him a marked man. He joined Forty Group, the militant wing of the defunct Kikuyu Central Association in 1951. He was elected as a local branch secretary of KAU in Ol’ Kalou and Thomson’s Falls area in 1952. He was briefly arrested in that same year, but escaped with the help of local police. This marked the beginning of his violent uprising. He formed Kenya Defence Council to co-ordinate all forest fighters in 1953.

In 1956, he was finally arrested with one of his wives, Wambui. He was sentenced to death by a court presided by Chief Justice Sir Kenneth O’Connor, while he was in a hospital bed at the General Hospital Nyeri. In the early morning of February 18, 1957 he was executed by the colonial government. The hanging took place at the Kamiti Maximum Security Prison

Legacy – Kimathi was buried in a mass grave and to this day the British government objects to his reburial as it felt (and continues to feel) that he was a terrorist. He is, however, viewed by many Kenyans especially from his tribe as a national hero. Many towns in Kenya have a building or street named after him, Including popular t-shirts designed to immortalize his image by brands like Jamhuri wear. The play “Trial of Dedan Kimathi” was written by Ngugi wa Thiong’o (the brother of a Mau Mau member) and provides a detailed account of Kimathi.

A statue of Kimathi is being built on Kimathi Street in Nairobi. Its foundation stone was laid in December 11, 2006 Kimathi was married to Mukami Kimathi. Among their children are sons Wachiuri and Maina and daughters Nyawira and Wanjugu

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The Struggle for Independence

(and “Mau Mau”)

A. African discontent over lack of influence on politics, and over loss of their land to the whites, eventually led to a guerrilla war.  This was a nationalist guerrilla struggle and definitely not the return to savagery as the “thin verneer of civilization wore off the bloody savages” as the whites portrayed it. B. It was fought largely in Kikuyu areas because of mountain hiding places there (used to be Aberdare Mountains, now called Nyandarua Mountains).  They had little connection with forces outside the country, so one would have predicted odds of success were low. C. They were opposed with much hysteria and brutality by British troops, flying planes and dropping bombs, using “protective villages” (a technique learned in Malaysia, and later used by US in Vietnam War) and putting Mau Mau believers through re-education (to return them to civilization).  The “re-education” often involved torture of one kind or another, some of it so bad that it eventually caused a stink in the British Parliament. D. There was much violence of African against African, and the use of “homeguards” who collaborated with the British.  Large numbers of Africans were killed, but only a small number of the colonists. E. Kenyatta and other presumed leaders became revered martyrs when they were sent to desert prison-camp.  Were actually more moderate than the radical true leaders. F. Led toward independence by giving Britain a black eye in world public opinion and raising the cost of continuing colonial domination.

Dedan Kimathi one of the leaders of the Land and Freedom Army soon after his capture by the British forces.

Footnote on the deaths in Mau Mau:

The official records of casualties for the Emergency period show:  11,503 Mau Mau fighters killed; 1,920 loyal Africans; 66
European soldiers; 29 European civilians; and 29 Asian civilians.  To quote Mazrui and Tidy, “These figures exclude the
uncounted thousands of Kikuyu, including many women and children, who died of starvation or disease in the overcrowded
and insanitary fortified villages.”

In the words of Barbara Slaughter, reviewing a program about Mau Mau on Channel 4 television in the United Kingdom:

In 1960 the state of emergency was lifted. The LFA death toll during the emergency was 11,500,
of whom around 1,000 were hanged. Eighty thousand Kikuyu were imprisoned in concentration
camps. One hundred and fifty thousand Africans, mostly Kikuyu, lost their lives, with many dying
of disease and starvation in the “protected villages”. On the other side, the KFA killed around
2,000 people, including 32 European civilians and 63 members of the security forces.

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