Very few photographers managed to get a shot of independence icon Dedan Kimathi, probably because of the operations that saw him spend most of his time engaging the British colonialists in a daredevil cat and mouse game at the Aberdare forests.
This could as well be as a result of the few photo gadgets available to Kenyans back in the pre-colonial era.
Most of the cameras were mostly in the hands of the white people and the scarcity of skilled persons able to handle the gadgets was also a factor to be considered.
But one man was able to capture the iconic photo of the Mau Mau leader lying with his cuffed hands resting on his chest. This was after Kimathi had been captured by his hunters after being smoked out of his hiding place.
The photo was taken by Tirus Kimathi Murage on the morning of October 21, 1956, at the Kahigaini Centre in Tetu, Nyeri county. He reportedly used his small Kodak camera to take the photo.
In an interview with the Daily Nation earlier this year, Murage, now, 87, says that he had arrived at the centre where he found a large crowd that had gathered to see the icon who had been shot and wounded when he got out of the forest in search of food.
He then asked a home guard standing nearby named Karungo Mugo to put Kimathi in a sitting posture before he stole two quick shots, landing him in trouble with a white officer who kicked and hit him with the butt of his gun.
Though the camera was confiscated by the officers, one of his pictures appeared on the front page of one of the locals the next day.
The two were friends who also referred to each other as 'ngarana' meaning namesakes.
Murage added that he received several letters from Kimathi requesting for postage stamps and stationery to aid in the push, while he was working with the Embu Forestry Service.
Kimathi was executed on February 18, 1957, at the Kamiti Maximum Prison and buried in an unmarked grave, but his efforts later paid off, Kenya going ahead to ahead to acquire her independence.
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