Dedan Kimathi

From ArticleWorld

Dedan Kimathi Waciuri was the head of the Mau Mau, a militant group that waged a guerrilla war against the British colonial government in Kenya. He was a self styled field marshal of Mau Mau, an organization that the British had declared as a militant group. Dedan Kimathi was the major force behind Mau Mau in its fight for Kenyan freedom against the imperial British rule.

Biographical

Dedan Kimathi was born on October 31, 1920 in North Tetu Division of Nyeri District. At the age of fifteen he became a pupil at Karunaini Primary School in Tetu and excelled at English and poetry. To raise money for his school fees he started night classes where, every evening, he taught other youngsters whatever he had learnt during the day. Three years later he became a pupil at a more advanced school, but finally completed his studies at another. Over the next five years he tried different ways of earning a living becoming a school teacher, a clerk with first a dairy and then a timber firm, and a trader. He even served a short stint in the army and fought in the Second World War.

Crucial years

In 1946 he became a member of the Kenyan African Union and by 1950 he had become very politically active. To begin with he became a member of Mau Mau, which had begun life as a land and freedom army, but he soon rose in importance to become its chief organizer. The Mau Mau had been outlawed by the British in 1952 because of increasing tension in the Kenyan political scene but the movement enjoyed nationwide support since it single handedly forced the British government to listen to Kenyan demands.

Death by execution

On February 18, 1957, Dedan Kimathi was executed by the colonialists at the notorious Kamiti maximum prison, where his remains are still believed to be buried in an unmarked grave. Africans including President Nelson Mandela believe that Kimathi is a legendary figure and should be accorded a state burial with full rights.