Dedan Kimathi
| Dedan Kimathi | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
Kimathi wa Waciuri 31 October 1920 Nyeri District, Central Province, Kenya |
| Died | 18 February 1957 (aged 36) Nairobi, Kenya |
| Known for | Leader of the Kenya Land and Freedom Army and the Mau Mau uprising |
Dedan Kimathi Waciuri (31 October 1920 – 18 February 1957) born Kimathi wa Waciuri, was a leader of the Mau Mau which led an armed military struggle known as the Mau Mau Uprising against the British colonial regime in Kenya in the 1950s.
Kenyan nationalists view him as the heroic figurehead of the Mau Mau rebellion against British colonial minority rule while the British government saw him as a terrorist. Despite being viewed with disdain by the Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel arap Moi governments, Kimathi and his fellow Mau Mau rebels have been officially recognised as heroes in the struggle for Kenyan independence since the Mwai Kibaki administration including the unveiling of a Kimathi statue in 2007. This was further reinforced by the passage of a new Constitution in 2010 calling for recognition of national heroes.
His capture and execution in 1957 led to the eventual defeat of the uprising by the British colonial government.
On 12 September 2015, the British Government unveiled a Mau Mau memorial statue in Nairobi's Uhuru Park that it funded "as a symbol of reconciliation between the British government, the Mau Mau, and all those who suffered". This followed a June 2013 decision by Britain to compensate more than 5,000 Kenyans tortured and abused during the Mau Mau insurgency.
Kimathi was born in Thege Village Tetu division, Nyeri District. His father died in September 1920 before Kimathi was born. He was born on 31 October 1920. Kimathi was raised by his mother, Waibuthi, one of his father's three wives. He had two brothers, Wambararia and Wagura, and two sisters. At the age of fifteen, he entered the local primary school, Karuna-ini, where he perfected his English. He would later use his language skills to write extensively before and during the Mau Mau uprising. He was a Debate Club member in his school and also showed ability in poetry. He continued his education in the secondary school Tumutumu CMS School. Kimathi was said to have balked at any discipline or control, and was constantly in trouble with his teachers, and as a result, to have drifted in and out of education.
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