Dedan Kimathi Waciuri (31 October 1920 – 18 February 1957) was a Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

n rebel leader who fought against the British colonial government in Kenya in the 1950s. He was convicted and executed in 1957 for murder and terrorism.
The British

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

 colonial government that ruled Kenya considered him a terrorist, as did the many Kenyans who opposed the Mau Maus

Mau Mau Uprising

The Mau Mau Uprising was a military conflict that took place in Kenya between 1952 and 1960...

. The Mau Mau killed at least two thousand Kenyan civilians, 32 European settlers, and 200 British and Kenyan soldiers in the eight year uprising. The British and Kenyan military units killed 20,000 Mau Mau rebels in combat, hanged over 1000 suspected Mau Mau supporters, and interned more than 70,000 Kikuyu civilians. Former Mau Mau viewed Kimathi as a freedom fighter, although many of the Kikuyu viewed him as a terrorist, due to the predations of the Mau-Mau and to the atrocities committed by the Mau Mau upon them. A particularly good source of turned agents for the Government forces were those former Mau Mau escaping from summary justice handed out by Kimathi, which was followed by death by strangulation. As Kimathi's own band became fewer in number and the government forces became more adept at limiting his movement, Kimathi became more and more paranoid and would execute members of his own band for almost random reasons, usually suspicion of 'spying'. In the end the main force against the remaining Mau Mau led by Kimathi consisted entirely of former Mau Mau who were now working for the Government. The capture of Kimathi was aided by their knowledge and skills because of the vast areas of rough terrain which hid the Mau Mau and Kimathi.

Early life

Kimathi was born in Thegenge Village Tetu

Tetu, Kenya

Tetu is an administrative division in Nyeri District, Central Province, Kenya. It is located west of adjacent Nyeri town, the provincial capital. Tetu is also name for a local electoral constituency...

 division, Nyeri District

Nyeri District

Nyeri District is a district in the Central Province of Kenya. Its headquarters is in Nyeri town. It has a population of 661,156 and an area of 3,356 km².The district is located on the southwest flank of Mount Kenya...

.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 uprising. He was a Debate Club member in his school and also showed special ability in poetry. He was deeply religious and carried a Bible

Bible

The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

 regularly. He worked for the forest department collecting tree seeds to help him foot his school bill. He later joined Tumutumu CMS School for his secondary learning, but dropped out for lack of funds.

He was circumcised on 17th September 1938 at Ihururu dispensary.

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

Kenya African Union

Kenya African Union was a political organization formed in 1944to articulate Kenyan grievances against the British colonial administration of the time...

. 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

Oath

An oath is either a statement of fact or a promise calling upon something or someone that the oath maker considers sacred, usually God, as a witness to the binding nature of the promise or the truth of the statement of fact. To swear is to take an oath, to make a solemn vow...

 of the Mau Mau, making him a marked man to the colonial government. He joined Forty Group

Forty Group

The Forty Group was a Kenyan society or organization of the mid-twentieth century constituted primarily of members of the Kenya African Union who joined with the aim of using violence to make their voice heard. The name is a translation of the Gĩkũyũ phrase Anake a 40, which means The Young Men of 40...

, the militant wing of the defunct Kikuyu Central Association

Kikuyu Central Association

The Kikuyu Central Association , led by James Beauttah and Joseph Kang'ethe, was a political organisation in colonial Kenya formed in 1924/5 to act on behalf of the Kĩkũyũ community by presenting their concerns to the British government. One of its greatest grievances was the expropriation of the...

 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

Sir Kenneth O'Connor

Sir Kenneth Kennedy O'Connor KBE MC QC had a long and distinguished career in the Colonial Service.O'Connor was born in Ranchi, Jharkhand, British India. He was the second child of the Revd. William O'Connor and Emma .He was educated at Saint Columba's College, Dublin where he was a chorister and...

, while he was in a hospital bed at the General Hospital Nyeri

Nyeri

Nyeri is a town in situated in the Central Highlands of Kenya Kenya, which was the administrative headquarters of the country's former Central Province...

. In the early morning of 18 February 1957 he was executed by the colonial government. The hanging

Hanging

Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...

 took place at the Kamiti Maximum Security Prison

Kamiti Maximum Security Prison

Kamiti Maximum Security Prison is a prison in Nairobi, Kenya. It is located in the agricultural district of Kiambu. Originally named "Kamiti Downs", it sits in the middle of its own estates which lie fallow and untended....

. He was buried in an unmarked grave

Unmarked grave

The phrase unmarked grave has metaphorical meaning in the context of cultures that mark burial sites.As a figure of speech, a common meaning of the term "unmarked grave" is consignment to oblivion, i.e., an ignominious end. A grave monument is a sign of respect and fondness, erected with the...

, and his burial site remains unknown.

Legacy

Kimathi is viewed by the current Kenyan government as a national hero. On the anniversary of the day he was executed, a bronze 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, symbolizing 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 criticism of government manipulation of the Mau Mau uprising for political ends.

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.

A bronze statue of "Freedom Fighter Dedan Kimathi" on a graphite plinth has been erected by the current Kenyan government in central Nairobi

Nairobi

Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...

.

External links

• Daily Nation: Villagers' fond memories of Mau Mau hero Kimathi
• Kenya Times: Did Kimathi die in vain?
• A conversation with insurgents who had fought alongside Dedan Kimathi
• Kimathi's life
• Dedan Kimathi's background (article in the middle of the page)
• A brief discussion of the uprising
• Report from Kenya