Waruhiu Itote (b. 1922; d. 30 April 1993) was one of the key leaders of the Mau Mau

Mau Mau Uprising

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

 rebellion alongside Dedan Kimathi

Dedan Kimathi

Dedan Kimathi Waciuri , was a Kenyan 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....

 and General Stanley Mathenge

Stanley Mathenge

Stanley Mathenge wa Mirugi was a Mau Mau leader.Before the Mau mau rebellion, he had fought in Burma. Later he became the leader of the Forty Group, an organisation supporting Kenya African Union . He also founded the Kenya Riigi, a group of illiterate fighters. Mathenge believed in traditional...

 and Musa Mwariama

Musa Mwariama

Field Marshal Musa Mwariama is a former leader of the Mau Mau in Meru and the highest ranking Mau Mau who survived the war in the forests and jungles of Central Kenya from its inception to independence without being killed or captured...

.

Itote enlisted in the King's African Rifles

King's African Rifles

The King's African Rifles was a multi-battalion British colonial regiment raised from the various British possessions in East Africa from 1902 until independence in the 1960s. It performed both military and internal security functions within the East African colonies as well as external service as...

 in 1942, was posted to Ceylon, then to the Burma Campaign

Burma Campaign

The Burma Campaign in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II was fought primarily between British Commonwealth, Chinese and United States forces against the forces of the Empire of Japan, Thailand, and the Indian National Army. British Commonwealth land forces were drawn primarily from...

 where he was promoted to Corporal.

He was born in Kaheti village, Mukurwe-ini 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...

 in 1922.

Itote was captured by British troops on 15 January 1954.
In 1967 he published his autobiography, "'Mau Mau' General" (East African Publishing House), and in 1979 wrote "Mau Mau in Action" (Transafrica Books). He served as the top officer of Kenya National Youth service with his headquarters at Ruaraka, Nairobi.

He died of a stroke in 1993 at the age of 71. At the time of his death he was running a farm near Ol Kalou

Ol Kalou

Ol Kalou is a town in Kenya. It is the headquarters of Nyandarua District of Central Province. It is located west of Aberdare range and 40 kilometres east of Nakuru. Ol Kalou is connected by road to Gilgil, Nyahururu and Nakuru...

 in 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...

.

External links

• External biography
• David Blumenkrantz "He Deserved a State Burial"
• Photos of Itote's 1954 trial by George Rodger
  George Rodger
  George Rodger was a British photojournalist noted for his work in Africa and for taking the first photographs of the death camps at Bergen-Belsen at the end of the Second World War....
  
  , Magnum Photos
  Magnum Photos
  Magnum Photos is an international photographic cooperative owned by its photographer-members, with offices located in New York, Paris, London and Tokyo...