#Field marshal Dedan Kimathi

[afrotumble]

Dedan Kimathi (1920-1957) •

Kimathi rose to prominence within the movement in the early 1950s, first acting as an oath administrator, a method of initiation and a way of ensuring loyalty within the Mau Mau movement. He quickly became a leader of the Mau Mau fighters who migrated into the forests to fight the British forces after the declaration of the State of Emergency in late 1952.

[jaguarhabit]

hair language.

      being sprung from one group home after another, the constant displacement and humane instability in those environments had a noticeably inflicted his self-image at that time. his frequent fights with other troubled teens often left him with large bumps and patches in his head. he'd try to hide his wounds with either having his hoody up and or stickin' with his oakland raiders fitted like it was glue, but when his hair became unmanageable, he opted for the only viable solution—shaving it all off. gone was the look of a wild manchild for the rest of his youth. he didn't particularly like being bald, but it beat looking like an untamed animal.

      he'd keep it shaved as he grew older, growing used to it by the time he eventually joined the military. during his tenure, he maintained his reading of revolutionary literature. in 2005, author manning marable published the autobiography of medgar evers: a hero's life and legacy revealed through his writings, letters, and speeches. in baghdad, iraq, erik would strike up an interest in medgar with the kikuyu uprising against the british of 1952. in response to racism in the deep south, medgar and his brother instill a "eye for an eye" discipline in the mississippi delta black community. invoking the kenyan guerilla spirit. but due to the fact they knew the naacp would never approve of it, it never came to pass.

    erik dug deeper into anti-colonial resistance in kenya and happened upon a interesting event during the time. the hair on the jungle-adapted warriors were a controversial trait to their adversaries. the british were inflicted with dread ( hence the racist origin of dredloc ) at the sight, but they'd go as far as cutting off the hair of captured freedom fighters, as dredlocs transformed into a symbol of resistance. before pressing upon this material, erik was already knowing about the negative connotations of afro-textured hair and the black revolt in the 60s took place that inspired pride in one's afrikaness. but, learning about the klfa's ( kenyan land and freedom army ) development in strategies, war economy, intelligence networks, judicial systems, strong armed rebellions, and their mere hairstyle struck a chord had inspired erik's to adopt the look.

     whilst allowing time to water the roots for his desired anti-imperial coiffure, he'd seldom reflect upon the klfa field marshall's dedan kimathi words after rejecting a crown-chosen accessor—kibuthu kihia—"gangster" label during his trial; " I don’t lead terrorists. I lead Africans who want their self-government and land. god did not intend that one nation be ruled by another forever. " this would affect his views on his later efforts in reaching out to radicalized war dogs.

r.i.p. dedan kimathi. ironically both he and erik died at the age of 36.

[aquanette45]

Field marshall, Dedan Kimathi

[seeselfblack]

The Mau Mau uprising, a brief story*


On this date in 1952, we remember the Mau Mau Uprising. Also known as the Mau Mau Rebellion, the Kenya Emergency, and the Mau Mau Revolt, was a war in the British Kenya Colony (1920–1963) between the Kenya Land and Freedom Army (KLFA), also known as Mau Mau, and the British. The Mau Mau were the confrontational wing of a growing demand for political representation and freedom in Kenya. This episode was one of many acts of Black liberation in the continent following the European invasion after the Berlin Conference.


The first attempt to form a countrywide political party began on October 1, 1944. This fledgling organization was called the Kenya African Study Union. Harry Thuku was the first chairman, but he soon resigned. There is dispute over Thuku’s reason for leaving KASU: Bethwell Ogot says Thuku “found the responsibility too heavy”; David Anderson states that “he walked out in disgust” as the militant section of KASU took the initiative. KASU changed its name to the Kenya African Union (KAU) in 1946. Author Wangari Maathai wrote that many of the organizers were ex-soldiers who fought for the British in Ceylon, Somalia, and Burma during the second World War. When they returned to Kenya, they were never paid and did not receive recognition for their service, whereas their British counterparts were awarded medals and received land, sometimes from the Kenyan veterans. 


Dominated by the Kikuyu people, Meru people and Embu people, the KLFA also comprised units of Kamba and Maasai peoples who fought against the white European colonist-settlers in Kenya, the British Army, and the local Kenya Regiment (British colonists, local auxiliary militia, and pro-British Kikuyu people). The capture of rebel leader, Field Marshal Dedan Kimathi, on October 21, 1956, signaled the defeat of the Mau Mau. 
However, the rebellion survived until after Kenya’s independence from Britain, driven mainly by the Meru units led by Field Marshal Musa Mwariama and General Baimungi. Baimuingi, one of the last Mau Mau generals, was killed shortly after Kenya attained self-rule. The KLFA failed to capture widespread public support. 
 General Sir Frank Kitson, who served in the British colonial forces in Kenya, authored a book entitled Gangs and Counter-gangs in which he described the tactic of manipulating the Mau Maus into rival gangs and pitting them against one another. The Mau Mau movement remained divided, despite attempts to unify the factions. The British, meanwhile, applied the strategy and tactics they developed in suppressing the Malayan Emergency. 
 The Mau Mau Uprising created a rift between the European colonial community in Kenya and the metropole and also resulted in violent divisions within the Kikuyu community. Suppressing the Mau Mau Uprising in the Kenyan colony cost Britain 55 million and caused at least 11,000 deaths among the Mau Mau and other forces, with some estimates considerably higher. This included 1,090 executions at the end of the war in 1960, the largest wartime uses of capital punishment by the British Empire. This episode set a precedent for the eventual independence of Kenya from Britain.  
See also: 

- How the British treated ‘hardcore’ Mau Mau women 

- The Mau-Mau Movement: Land, Identity and The Politics of Reclamation

[akonoadham]

We are in October and we are remembering the Sacrifice of Dedan Kimathi.

In the early morning of 18 February 1957, Field Marshall Dedan Kimathi was executed by hanging at the Kamiti Maximum Security Prison gallows until pronounced dead.

Before his execution, his wife, Mukami secretly drove to Kamiti prison. He told her that "I have no doubt in my mind that the British are determined to execute me. I have committed no crime.

My only crime is that I am a Kenyan revolutionary who led a liberation army... Now If I must leave you and my family I have nothing to regret about.

*My blood will water the tree of Independence*."

[lavi-dragon]

Laser-Entfernungsmesser oder GPS-Gerät? Welches solltest du kaufen?

An den Hängen der Aberdare Ranges steht ein großer Mugumo-Baum (Feigenbaum), dessen Aussehen über seine lange Existenz Auskunft geben kann und dessen Geschichte nur als reich bezeichnet werden kann. Die Freiheitskämpfer von Mau Mau machten Spalten im Stamm des Baums, die sie als geheime Mailbox benutzten, in der sie durch ihre Agenten Nachrichten hinterließen. In Bezug auf Mau Mau-Führer Field Marshall Dedan Kimathi wurde der Feigenbaum als Kimathi-Post bezeichnet. Der Aberdare-Nationalpark kann auch für Höhlen berühmt sein, die von den Freiheitskämpfern während des Guerilla-Aufstands vor den britischen Kolonialisten als Versteck genutzt wurden.

Baseball wird gespielt, indem er mit dem Schläger im Ball erscheint. Ein Team könnte der Teig sein, während das andere der Feldspieler sein wird. Das Schlagmannschaftsteam könnte das Scoring-Team sein und sie werden Spielpunkte verdienen, wenn sie nach einem erfolgreichen Treffer einige Basen im Diamanten schlagen. Alternativ wird das Fielding-Team versuchen, seinen Gegner durch einen Treffer zu erwischen.

[explore254]

Dedan Kimathi Monument is located along Kimathi opposite the Hilton Hotel in Nairobi.  It was put up in honour of Field Marshal Dedan Kimath... https://www.explore254.com/tour-site/dedan-kimathi-monument/?feed_id=2854&_unique_id=5fdafd6f3078f #explore254 #explorekenya #kenyatravel #kenyatravelwebsite #kenya

[zjgeneral]

🇰🇪 Dedan Kimathi Dedan Kimathi Waciuri (31 October 1920 – 18 February 1957), born Kimathi wa Waciuri, was the senior military and spiritual leader of the Mau Mau Uprising. Widely regarded as a revolutionary leader, he led the armed military struggle against the British colonial regime in Kenya in the 1950s until his execution in 1957. Dedan Kimathi Born: Kimathi wa Waciuri 31 October 1920 Nyeri District, Central Province, Kenya Died: 18 February 1957 (aged 36) Nairobi, Kenya Nationality: Kenyan Known for Leader of the Kenya Land and Freedom Army and the Mau Mau Uprising Kimathi is credited with leading efforts to create formal military structures within the Mau Mau, and convening a war council in 1953. He along with Musa Mwariama and Muthoni Kirima was one of three Field Marshals. His capture in 1956 and execution the next year led to the decline of the uprising against the British colonial government. [1] Before his execution, he wrote that he was "...so busy and so happy preparing for heaven tomorrow." [2] Kenyan nationalists view him as the heroic figurehead of the Kenyan freedom struggle against British colonial rule, while the British government saw him as a terrorist. [3] 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, culminating in the unveiling of a Kimathi statue in 2007. [4] This was reinforced by the passage of a new Constitution in 2010 calling for recognition of national heroes. https://www.instagram.com/p/CGnJYs8FQaJ/?igshid=14cl410czb07v

[historicalfirearms]

Homemade Mau Mau Firearms

In October 1952, a state of emergency was declared in the British East African colony of Kenya after the killing of white settler families in a spate of brutal murders. A group known as the Mau Mau began an insurgent uprising against British rule targeting white settlers and any Kenyans that didn’t support them. The Kenyan authorities and the British Army fought a three year campaign to quell the rebellion using counterinsurgency tactics. 

Mau Mau leaders, like Dedan Kimathi, used the Kenya people’s religious beliefs to attempt to unite and incite the rebellion, using spiritual oaths to bind insurgents and supporters to the cause. By the mid-1950s, however, the Mau Mau guerrillas had been forced into hiding in their heartland in the Aberdare mountains forcing the British to hunt them down. 

Mau Mau Field Marshal Mwariama inspects his troops, some of whom are armed with improvised firearms (source)

The Mau Mau possessed very few modern weapons and were forced to rely on Panga (machetes) and homemade improvised firearms. Many of these were rudimentary pipe shotguns which used either a slam fire action or a rubber band system which once released caused a striker to hit the ammunition’s primer and fire the weapon.

This photo of three Mau Mau ‘pistols’ shows how springs and rubber bands were used to strike ammunition primers, the bolts appear to be simple barrel bolt latches (source)

The Imperial War Museum has a large collection of captured Mau Mau improvised firearms. The manufacturing quality of the guns varies widely with some quite well finished while others are little more than a metal tube attached to a roughly cut stock. Interestingly, many of them have been fashioned to look a little like British bolt action rifles. Some have non-working triggers and bolt handles while others have wooden ‘box magazines’ and have stocks which approximate SMLEs and No.4 Rifles. 

A collection of captured homemade Mau Mau guns (source)

The improvised firearms were largely made for symbolic reasons to project the status of Mau Mau officers or to intimidate the local populace and bolster the morale of the guerrillas armed with them. Due to their primitive manufacture they were largely unsafe to fire. 

The British counter-insurgency campaign, disunity amongst the Mau Mau and the eventual capture and execution of Kimathi finally led to the collapse of the armed Mau Mau uprising. Any remaining support within the general population ebbed away by 1958.  

Sources:

Images: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

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[mcebisco]

Last emotional words of Field Marshall Dedan Kimathi to his wife before his execution by the British

Dedan Kimathi was a Kenyan revolutionary leader. Born on October 31, 1920 in Inyeri District Central Kenya, he was the senior military and spiritual leader of the Mau Mau Uprising.

However, on the early morning of February 18, 1957 Dedan Kimathi Waciuri was executed at the Kamiti Maximum Security Prison gallows by hanging in the neck until he breathed his last breathe by the British colonial…

[patmcgroin1]

Aberdare National Park

On the slopes of the Aberdare Ranges stands a giant Mugumo (fig) tree whose look can tell of its long existence and whose history can only be termed as rich. The Mau Mau freedom fighters made crevices in the tree's trunk which they used as a secret post office where they dropped messages through their agents. In respect of the Mau Mau leader Field Marshall Dedan Kimathi, the fig tree became known as the Kimathi Post office. The Aberdare National park is also famous for caves which were used by the freedom fighters as hide outs during the Guerrilla uprising against the British colonialists. Of interest in this park are the moorlands, bamboo thickets, Ol Donyo Lesatima and Kinangop peaks, Gura falls, Karuru falls, Chania falls, Magura falls, streams, rivers, rugged terrains, and deep ravines. The park is home to large herds of the African elephant, buffaloes, black rhinos, rare bongo antelopes, wild dogs, giant forest hogs, Columbus monkeys, baboons, leopards, Sykes monkeys, warthogs, red duikers, reed bucks, elands, Genet cats, hyenas, and variety of bird species. The surrounding local community is the Kikuyu who believe the ranges to be one of the homes of their God (Ngai). The locals originally named them Nyandarua (drying hide) due to their many distinctive folds. The colonialists however, knew them as the White Highlands because of the large numbers of Europeans who settled there in the 1920's. The ranges were later renamed in 1884 by Joseph Thomson an explorer, after Lord Aberdare who was the president of the Royal Geographic Society. Activities to participate in include trout fishing in the streams and rivers (sports fishing license should be obtained at the Park gates), mountain climbing, day and night game viewing, camping, picnicking, horse riding, photography, bird watching, and nature walks. For effective game viewing it is advisable to book into the Tree Tops or Ark Lodges which provide an excellent platform due to their close proximity to watering holes. The Tree Tops hotel was literally built on the top of trees as a two-roomed tree house. It was rebuilt after being burnt down by African guerrillas in 1954 during the uprising and now contains 50 rooms. To get to the Ark guests have to go through Aberdare Country Club an elegant country hotel which is the access point for the Ark. From the lodges, it is possible to view elephants bathing, black rhinos squishing in muck, water bucks, buffaloes, gazelles and even the bush baby. Animal viewing is especially outstanding at night when most of them gather at the watering holes.

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[explore254]

Dedan Kimathi Monument is located along Kimathi opposite the Hilton Hotel in Nairobi.  It was put up in honour of Field Marshal Dedan Kimath... https://www.explore254.com/tour-site/dedan-kimathi-monument/?feed_id=1034&_unique_id=5fc3d59b1590a