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
