The list of the country's most celebrated and dedicated liberation fighters cannot be complete without mentioning Dedan Kimathi, a man who gave his all towards ensuring we are liberated from the hands of the colonialists.
Born Kimathi Waciuri in Thegenge, Nyeri on October 31, 1920, the Mau Mau leader did not live to eat the fruits of his labour, following his capture in 1956 and execution in 1957.Sadly, his former colleagues in the fight contributed to his capture, with former Mau Mau fighters who had been arrested and reformed by the colonialists fulfilling their new bosses' wish to hunt him down.The search for the man whom the imperialists had branded 'terrorist' was handled by Ian Henderson, a local Special Branch member who was entrusted with the job of flushing out guerrilla fighters, a kind of fight Kimathi had perfected.During the course of 1956, Kimathi engaged his hunters in a cat-and-mouse chase in the forests of the Aberdare Ranges, outsmarting Ian's team.The settler responded by sending pseudo gangs to hunt Kimathi who was also well fortified with a good number of trusted and reliable fighter bodyguards.The gangs included blacked-up white men and reformed guerrillas, who were Kimathi's former allies.In October 1956, he found himself surrounded by Ian's forces in the open country of Kikuyu reserve, after being forced out of the forest in search of food.He had suffered a shot to the abdomen, a bullet that came from a home guard's gun.Kimathi was taken for subsequent trial in Nyeri, presided over by Chief Justice Sir Kenneth O'Conner. Kimathi was sentenced to death while on a hospital bed at the Nyeri General Hospital and was hanged on February 18, 1957, with his body being tossed in an unmarked pit to prevent his followers from turning the place into a shrine.#historynow