Field Marshall Dedan Kimathi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Kimathi wa Waciuri 31 October 1920 |
| Died | 18 February 1957 (aged 36) |
| Cause of death | Execution by hanging |
| Resting place | Kamiti Maximum Security Prison (Alleged) |
| Occupation(s) | Teacher, freedom fighter |
| Organization | Kenya Land and Freedom Army |
| Known for | Leader of the Kenya Land and Freedom Army |
| Spouse | Mukami Kimathi |
Dedan Kimathi Waciuri (born Kimathi wa Waciuri; 31 October 1920 – 18 February 1957) was the leader of the Kenya Land and Freedom Army during the Mau Mau Uprising (1952–1960) against the British colonial rule in Kenya in the 1950s. He was captured by the British in 1956 and executed in 1957. Kenya gained independence in 1963.[1] 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 Baimungi M'marete, Musa Mwariama, Kubu Kubu, General China and Muthoni Kirima, was one of the Field Marshals.
Kenyan nationalists view him as the freedom fighter in the Kenyan struggle for independence, while the British colonial authorities saw him as a terrorist.[2] Despite being viewed negatively by Kenya's first two presidents, Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel arap Moi, Kimathi and his fellow Mau Mau rebels were officially recognised as heroes in the struggle for Kenyan independence under the Mwai Kibaki administration, culminating in the unveiling of a Kimathi statue in 2007.[3] This was reinforced by the passage of a new Constitution in 2010 calling for recognition of national heroes.
- ^ Koinange, Machua (20 October 2013). "My encounter with the man who shot Dedan Kimathi". The Standard. Standard Media Kenya. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
- ^ Branch, Daniel: Defeating Mau Mau, Creating Kenya: Counterinsurgency, Civil War, and Decolonization. Cambridge University Press, New York 2009, ISBN 978-0-521-13090-5.
- ^ Kinyatti, Maina (2005). "Kimathi: The man, the myth and the legacy". Archived from the original on 5 February 2015.