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Dedan Kimathi Waciuri

Leader of the Land & Freedom Movement


BY: Wikipedia

Dedan Kimathi Waciuri (31 October 1920 18 February 1957) born Kimathi wa Waciuri,
was a leader of the Mau Mau which led an armed military struggle known as the Mau Mau
uprising against the British colonial government in Kenya in the 1950s.

A highly controversial character, Kimathi's life has been subject to intense propaganda by
both the British government who saw him as a terrorist, and Kenyan nationalists who view
him as the heroic figurehead of the Mau Mau rebellion. Despite being viewed with disdain by
the Jomo Kenyatta regime and subsequent governments, Kimathi and his fellow Mau Mau
rebels are now officially recognised as heroes in the struggle for Kenyan independence by the
incumbent government.[2] His capture and execution in 1957 led to the eventual defeat of the
uprising by the British colonial government.

Early life
Kimathi was born in Thege Village Tetu division, Nyeri District. His father was polygamous
and had 3 wives but he died before Kimathi was born. Kimathi was raised by his mother,
Waibuthi. He had 2 brothers, Wambararia and Wagura, and 2 sisters. 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 Mau Mau uprising.
He was a Debate Club member in his school and also showed special ability in poetry.
He later joined Tumutumu CMS School for his secondary learning. Kimathi however balked
at any discipline or control, and was constantly in trouble with his teachers. As a result he
drifted in and out of education, and never fulfilled his potential of a bright academic career.
In 1940, Kimathi enlisted in the British army. However, he was discharged after one month
for drunkenness and persistent violence against his fellow recruits. He then drifted from job
to job, including working as a swineherd and a primary school teacher, for which he was
dismissed after accusations of violence against his pupils.

Mau Mau movement


In around 1947 or 1948, whilst working in Ol Kalou, Kimathi came into close contact with
members of the Kenya African Union (KAU). By 1950 he had become secretary to the KAU
branch at Ol Kalou, which was controlled by militant supporters of the Mau Mau cause. The
Mau Mau began as the Land and Freedom Army, a militant Kikuyu army out to reclaim their
land, which the British settlers had gradually stripped away from them. As the group's
influence and membership widened it became a major threat to the colonialists.

Upon taking the oath of the Mau Mau, Kimathi in 1951 joined the Forty Group, the militant
wing of the defunct Kikuyu Central Association. As branch secretary, Kimathi presided over
oath-taking. He believed strongly in compelling fellow Kikuyu by way of oath to bring
solidarity to the independence movement. To achieve this he administered beatings and
carried a double-barrelled shotgun.[4] His activities with the group made him a target of the
colonial government, and he was briefly arrested that same year but escaped with the help of
local police. This marked the beginning of his violent uprising. He formed the Kenya
Defence Council to co-ordinate all forest fighters in 1953.
In 1956, on 21 October, exactly four years to the day after the start of the uprising, a group
led by Ian Henderson arrested Kimathi in the Nyeri forest.[4] His capture marked the end of
the forest war. A court presided over by Chief Justice O'Connor and with an all-black jury of
Kenyans sentenced him to death while he lay in a hospital bed at the General Hospital Nyeri.
In the early morning of 18 February 1957 he was executed by hanging at the Kamiti
Maximum Security Prison. He was buried in an unmarked grave, and his burial site remains
unknown.

Legacy
Kimathi is viewed as a national hero by the Kenyan people, and the government has erected a
bronze statue of "Freedom Fighter Dedan Kimathi" on a graphite plinth, in central Nairobi.
On the anniversary of the day he was executed (11 December), in 2006, the statue of Kimathi
was unveiled in Nairobi city centre. Kimathi, clad in military regalia, holds a rifle on the right
hand and a dagger on the other, symbolising the last weapons he held in his struggle. This
official celebration of Mau Mau is in marked contrast to a post-colonial norm of all previous
Kenyan governments regard of the Mau Mau as terrorists. Such a turnabout has attracted
praise from Kenyans as a long overdue recognition of the Mau Mau for their part in the
struggle for independence. Elsewhere, The Dedan Kimathi Stadium in Nyeri was renamed
after him; it was formerly known as Kamukunji Grounds.
Kimathi was married to Mukami Kimathi. Among their children are sons Wachiuri and Maina
and daughters Nyawira and Wanjugu. In 2010, Kimathi's widow requested that the search for
her husband's body be renewed so she could give him a proper burial.

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