milayetu

The president of Kenya hon. Mwai Kibaki on Sunday the 18^th of February 2007 unveiled the long awaited and fought for statue of the late Dedan Kimathi, fifty years after his death. Dedan was a Mau Mau warrior that helped fight for the independence of this country. It is one of the steps the government has taken to prove that it is determined to honour our heroes.

There are many stories that are said about his man. In fact there are so many that I do not know what to believe anymore. What all this stories have in common is that he was determined to free this nation. So determined was he that he was not afraid to step on the toes of his own people in the process. Just like the first president of this country, Mzee Kenyatta, he was a strong leader, dictator-like (for lack of a better word).

Sam Kahiga has attempted to write a documentary novel on Dedan Kimathi in his book, Dedan Kimathi; the real story. He builds his story from Kimathi’s documents some of which he claims have never been published before.

Nevertheless the book is intriguing. It portrays the intricacies of the war and divided loyalties. It shows just how much people wanted their freedom and the lengths they were willing to go. It showed the strength and the weaknesses of the struggle. It also shows the role women played in the fight. The book does not talk much of Dedan’s childhood but talks a lot about his life in the forest, and climaxes with his arrest and death. You will keep turning those pages. It evokes love, laughter, pride sadness and even disappointment.

Life for fighters in the forest as vividly described by the author was very challenging. Dedan is portrayed as a very cool and organised leader in the forest. He was not known for holding the gun and shooting, but he organised others to do so. He had some kind of government in the forest, and was determined to make his role as a leader known. This did not go well with some of the fighters especially those who were much older and experienced than he was. The book also shows the kind of relationship he had with the famous Stanley Mathenge, the rivalry between the two. Dedan believed in the importance of education and used this aspect to appoint other leaders. He also knew the importance of solidarity in the struggle and tried to avoid confrontation. But when pushed to the limit sometimes a man becomes desperate, and it is in this desperation that some make mistakes that may end up causing their lives. When some out rightly refused to be commanded by Dedan he had them arrested. Yes! In the forest according to Sam Kahiga, Dedan had a cell made for his own people. This led to further division among the people and by the end of the story Dedan is betrayed by his own people.

At the end of the story one is left to wonder would Kenya have handled such two strong leaders; Mzee Kenyatta and Dedan Kimathi. Nevertheless he was a man to be admired. It is a book worth reading, whether the story is true or not, well I guess we may never know but this is what is said of the book;

“In this documentary novel, the author, after detailed research, gives us a fresh and convincing portrait of the Mau Mau hero along with his followers, both men and women. For the first time we have a credible flesh-and-blood Kimathi.”