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Wamuyu Gakuru, originally named Anna Wamuyu Kabubi was born in 1934 at the foothills of Mt. Kenya. Her parents were Mundu Kakuru and Thigia Gakuru. She was from the village of Kariuthi. For an occupation, her father was a subsistence farmer who grew and sold fruits, coffee, and vegetables, and her mother was a homemaker. [1] This role of subsistence farmer, performed by her father featured a common practice employed by Kenyan civilians as a result of British occupation and limited social mobility. [1] Gakuru. In 1947, attended Goramo Private School located nearby her home village. [1] While attending this school, Gakuru maintained contact with a nearby local independent school. These independent schools provided a location for political agitation to thrive. When Gakuru was 16, she met and conversed with a traveling political firebrand. This political group was named Gakaara Wa Wanjau, and started to develop Gakuru’s political beliefs surrounding colonialism. [1] The Mau Mau movement ended Gakuru’s schooling career when she was in class five. She had heard about the British forces relocating people groups, and feared the same fate for her family. This was her first introduction to the Mau Mau movement. [2]
The Mau Mau Rebellion took years of previously established injustice and frustration to develop. The arrival of the British in Kenya in the 19th century, signaled the start of poor living conditions, and injustice. The British desired to build a railroad to connect with their colony in Uganda. However, the railroad went through several already established ethnic Kenyan kingdoms and territories. This disruption frustrated the Kikuyu ethnic group, the largest ethnic group. The British met the Kikuyu resistance with force. The British conducted executions and other brutal responses to put down the Kikuyu people. As a result, disease and famine took hold of the area. The Rebellion grew in popularity as a result of continued discontent and mistreatment. [3]
The name Mau Mau does not refer to a singular ethnic group of Kenyans, but many. The term Mau Mau found its origin from British forces, who labeled liberation fighters Mau Mau. The various ethnic groups involved included the Gikuyu, Embu, Meru, and Kikuyu. The Mau Mau believed that the colonial government had failed them. To join the Mau Mau, a special oath had to be given, and accepted in the form of ceremony. [4] During said ceremony, members would swear an oath of secrecy, regardless of gender or ethnic group. [5] To be a loyalist meant swearing allegiance and service to the British Colonial government. Loyalists were targeted by Mau Mau fighters to send a message to the rest of the people. [6] The Rebellion had begun.
The Mau Mau visit to the Kenya Africa Union (KAU) marked the turn to violent rebellion. The KAU promoted a militant approach rather than a constitutional one. The activists began to force people into the oathing ceremonies by threats, intimidation, and consequences. These consequences included death and other wicked practices. The conflict escalated into a larger conflict in 1952 through an increase in British troops. British soldiers began to round up any suspected Mau Mau supporters or perpetrators and hung or detained them in prison camps. [7]
The Mau Mau Rebellion featured both political and social changes in the Mau Mau's quest for liberation. During the rebellion, the Mau Mau employed the use of women inside of their forces as both spies and soldiers. The women served faithfully in the forest armies. The women, when not running supplies or fighting the British/Loyalists, led the oath ceremonies or acted as medics. The women challenged the social expectations of women through combat and leadership, roles employed by men in Western civilizations. However, in Kenya, these Women served alongside their male counterparts, fighting for the goals of the rebellion.
Wamuyu Gakuru was defined by her pivotal role in Kenya's political landscape, particularly in the push for decolonization and women's empowerment. Taking the Mau Mau oath in 1948 as part of the Kenya Africa Union (KAU) marked a significant turning point. [8] Her commitment to recruiting girls into the movement showcased her dedication to fostering political consciousness among women. Despite the vow of secrecy surrounding the oath, her efforts were visible through her active involvement in political activities. As a trailblazer, she displayed courage and leadership, inspiring others to join the cause for independence. [8]
Wamuyu Gakuru's dedication to the cause extended beyond her initial oath. She later took the batuni oath in 1951 in Goramo village, Central Province. [9] This marked a significant shift in her involvement, as the Batuni oath signified a call to arms and a commitment to the guerrilla movement. [10] Motivated by the arrest of Kenyatta and others in 1952, she embraced the belief that armed resistance was necessary to drive out the colonialists. [11] Wamuyu Gakuru's willingness to take a solemn oath demonstrated her determination to fight for Kenya's independence, playing crucial roles as both a recruiter and a warrior, shaping history and leaving a legacy as a fearless activist and advocate for liberation.
After taking the batuni oath in 1951, Wamuyu Gakuru’s covertly infiltrated the homes of white settlers, strategically positioned by the Mau Mau leadership to gather intelligence and locate hidden weapons. [12] Employed as a maid in the house of a settler named Kihara, she discreetly identified the whereabouts of guns, facilitating a successful raid by Mau Mau fighters. [12] Subsequently, she undertook a similar role in the household of another settler named Hines, aiding in retrieving additional firearms during a subsequent raid. [12]
In 1953, Wamuyu Gakuru's involvement escalated as she participated in gun running near Nanyuki Airport, shuttling between the forest camp at Mt. Kenya and the operational base. [13] Her efforts were instrumental in securing a substantial cache of weapons, necessitating a railway wagon for transportation, facilitated by a fellow oath-taker named Musoka. [12] Following these missions, Wamuyu Gakuru fully committed herself to the cause, joining the forest fighters in their struggle against colonial oppression. [12] Her resourcefulness and role in this movement solidified her legacy as a freedom fighter, remembered for her role in Kenya's fight for independence.
Wamuyu Gakuru's journey as a freedom fighter led her to join the Hika Hika battalion in 1955, also known as the Mount Kenya/Mathathi Army, under the command of Waruhiu Itote, famously known as General China. [14] With other distinguished leaders like General Tanganyika and General Kariba, the battalion encompassed the Nyeri, Embu, and Meru regions, embodying the spirit of "go quickly, go quickly." [12] Within this formidable force, 30 women, including Wamuyu Gakuru, played crucial roles, engaging in activities such as gathering provisions and intelligence. [15] Wamuyu Gakuru's specific duties involved espionage, focusing on monitoring the movements of the colonial army, particularly the native colonial police forces. [12] [16] As a ration commander, she also ensured the equitable distribution of scarce resources among the combatants.
Her military training, conducted by World War II veteran Mbithi Manyuira, equipped her with essential skills in handling firearms like the 303 Enfield rifle, Bren gun, and Sten gun, as well as specialized training in using "gaturauhoro" for combat purposes. [17] Through her unwavering dedication and bravery, Wamuyu Gakuru emerged as a figure in the struggle for Kenya's independence.
Wamuyu Gakuru reflected on the weaknesses of the Mau Mau movement, noting a lack of unity among its leaders as a significant flaw. [18] She criticized self-appointed leaders without leadership qualities, hindering coordination. [18] Gakuru highlighted the marginalization of women, weakening the movement's impact. [18] Despite its faults, the Mau Mau movement accelerated Kenya's independence, challenging colonial rule. [18] Gakuru advocated for recognizing Mau Mau's contributions through museums and monuments. [18] She asserted Mau Mau's legacy laid Kenya's foundation for freedom and democracy, emphasizing educating younger generations about its significance. [18]
A part of Eastern Africa, the territory of what is known as Kenya has seen human habitation since the beginning of the Lower Paleolithic. The Bantu expansion from a West African centre of dispersal reached the area by the 1st millennium AD. With the borders of the modern state at the crossroads of the Bantu, Nilo-Saharan and Afro-Asiatic ethno-linguistic areas of Africa, Kenya is a multi-ethnic state. The Wanga Kingdom was formally established in the late 17th century. The Kingdom covered from the Jinja in Uganda to Naivasha in the East of Kenya. This is the first time the Wanga people and Luhya tribe were united and led by a centralized leader, a king, known as the Nabongo.
The Mau Mau rebellion (1952–1960), also known as the Mau Mau uprising, Mau Mau revolt, or Kenya Emergency, was a war in the British Kenya Colony (1920–1963) between the Kenya Land and Freedom Army (KLFA), also known as the Mau Mau, and the British authorities. Dominated by Kikuyu, Meru and Embu fighters, the KLFA also comprised units of Kamba and Maasai who fought against the European colonists in Kenya, the British Army, and the local Kenya Regiment.
Jomo Kenyatta was a Kenyan anti-colonial activist and politician who governed Kenya as its Prime Minister from 1963 to 1964 and then as its first President from 1964 to his death in 1978. He was the country's first president and played a significant role in the transformation of Kenya from a colony of the British Empire into an independent republic. Ideologically an African nationalist and a conservative, he led the Kenya African National Union (KANU) party from 1961 until his death.
The Kikuyu are a Bantu ethnic group native to East Africa Central Kenya. At a population of 8,148,668 as of 2019, they account for 17.13% of the total population of Kenya, making them Kenya's largest ethnic group.
Dedan Kimathi Waciuri was the senior military and spiritual leader of the Kikuyu rebels involved in 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 capture in 1956 and execution in 1957. 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, General China and Muthoni Kirima, was one of the Field Marshals.
The Kenya African Union (KAU) was a political organization in colonial Kenya, formed in October 1944 prior to the appointment of the first African to sit in the Legislative Council. In 1960 it became the current Kenya African National Union (KANU).
Mũmbi Muthiga V is regarded as the mother of the Gĩkũyũ people. The word Mũmbi can be translated as the creator, "one who moulds/creates/builds". She and Gĩkũyũ were married, and both are claimed ancestor to all the Agĩkũyũ people. The story of Gĩkũyũ and Mũmbi has been recorded by various writers throughout the Gĩkũyũ orator and history; notable among them are Jomo Kenyatta, the first president of independent Kenya, Louis Leakey and the prolific Gĩkũyũ writer Gakaara wa Wanjaũ and another Gĩkũyũ writer known as Mathew Njoroge Kabetũ among many others. The name Mumbi comes from the Bantu root verb KUMBA, "BA", the same root word that gives rise to "UMBA". The prefix "Mu" is the Bantu noun classifier for nouns that have souls, like humans. The verb UMBA indicates the action of moulding, shaping, designing or creating. The suffix "i" replaces the terminal "a" in the Bantu language noun or verb to create the name for the performer of the action. Being derived from a Bantu root, the word Mumbi is also widely used by the Kamba ethnic community. Among the Kamba community, the name carries the same meaning as among the Kikuyus.
The Luo of Kenya and Tanzania are a Nilotic ethnic group native to western Kenya and the Mara Region of northern Tanzania in East Africa. The Luo are the fourth-largest ethnic group (10.65%) in Kenya, after the Kikuyu (17.13%), the Luhya (14.35%) and the Kalenjin (13.37%). The Tanzanian Luo population was estimated at 1.1 million in 2001 and 3.4 million in 2020. They are part of a larger group of related Luo peoples who inhabit an area ranging from South Sudan, southwestern Ethiopia, northern and eastern Uganda, southwestern Kenya, and northern Tanzania.
The 1959 Hola massacre was a massacre committed by British colonial forces during the Mau Mau Uprising at a colonial detention camp in Hola, Kenya.
Virginia Edith Wambui Otieno (1936–2011), born Virginia Edith Wambui Waiyaki, who became Wambui Waiyaki Otieno Mbugua after her second marriage, and generally known as Wambui, was born into a prominent Kikuyu family and became a Kenyan activist, politician and writer. Wambui became prominent in 1987 because of a controversial legal fight between her and the clan of her Luo husband Silvano Melea Otieno over the right to bury Otieno. The case involved the tension between customary law and common law in modern-day Kenya in the case of an inter-tribal union. The various legal hearings this case stretched over more than five months and the final verdict suggested that a Kenyan African was presumed to adhere to the customs of the tribe they were born into unless they clearly and unequivocally broke all contact with it. As Otieno retained some rather tenuous links with his clan, they were awarded the right to bury him, ignoring Wambui's wishes. However, Wambui inherited most of her late husband's estate.
The Kikuyu Home Guard was a government paramilitary force in Kenya from early 1953 until January 1955. It was formed in response to insurgent attacks during the Mau Mau Uprising.
Harry Thuku was a Kenyan born in Kiambu, Mitahato village. As a politician, he was one of the pioneers in the development of modern African nationalism in Kenya. He helped found the Young Kikuyu Association and the East African Association before being arrested and exiled from 1922 to 1931. In 1932 he became President of the Kikuyu Central Association, in 1935 founded the Kikuyu Provincial Association, and in 1944 founded the Kenya African Study Union. Opposed to the Mau Mau movement, he later retired to coffee-farming.
The Kenya Land and Freedom Army (KLFA), also known as the Mau Mau, was a Kenyan insurgent group which fought against British colonial rule in Kenya during the Mau Mau rebellion from 1952 to 1960. Its membership consisted largely of the Kikuyu people. The KFLA was led by Dedan Kimathi for most of its existence. After four years, British forces managed to destroy the KFLA militarily, and Kimathi was captured and executed in 1957. Though the Mau Mau rebellion was ultimately suppressed, it played a major role in achieving Kenyan independence, which occurred in 1963.
Muthoni Gachanja Likimani is a Kenyan activist and writer, who has published works of both fiction and non-fiction, as well as children's books. In her career she has also been a broadcaster, actress, teacher and publisher. She was the first Kenyan beauty queen, the first African to establish a public relations firm in Kenya and one of the country's earliest female authors.
Field-Marshal Muthoni wa Kirima was a top-ranking female fighter in Mau Mau's 1950s rebellion against British colonialism. Few Mau Mau women became active fighters, and Muthoni was the only woman to have attained the Mau Mau rank of field-marshal.
Mary Muthoni Nyanjiru was a Kikuyu woman and a Kenyan political activist remembered for leading the protest after the arrest of Harry Thuku, that resulted in her death. Muthoni Nyanjiru was born in Weithaga, Murang'a, Kenya, although her date or year of birth are not recorded. At the time she was shot and killed in 1922, she had been living in Nairobi with her stepdaughter, Elizabeth Waruiru.
Kurito ole Kisio was a Mau Mau general who was killed in Narok, Kenya, in 1954. One of the lesser known leaders of the rebellion, Kisio was the highest ranking Mau Mau leader from the Maasai community. He fought alongside Turesh ole Tikani and Muntet ole Nkapiani. Although little is known about him today, Kisio's role in the freedom movement was important because it shows the Mau Mau Uprising was not a Kikuyu-only affair. According to Mau Mau chronicler Karari Njama, ole Kisio was the fourth most powerful man within Mau Mau ranks. He had an army of about 800 fighters operating from Melili Forest in Narok.
The Nairobi People's Convention Party (NPCP) was a Nairobi based political party formed in 1957 by Tom Mboya. This party played a crucial role in the fight for Kenya's independence. Despite attempts at suppression from the colonial government, the NPCP managed to mobilise Africans in Nairobi to further the nationalist cause and fight for independence from Britain. Following Jomo Kenyatta's release from detention in 1961, the NPCP merged with the Kenya African Union (KAU) and Kenya Independence Movement (KIM) to form the Kenya African National Union (KANU).
During the colonial occupation of Kenya, Black Africans working on farms owned by white settlers were called "squatters" by the British. As of 1945, there were over 200,000 such squatters in the Highlands and more than half were Kikuyu. The Mau Mau rebellion began amongst these squatters in the late 1940s and after independence in the early 1960s, peasants started squatting land in rural areas without the permission of the owner.
Nationalist and independence movements throughout Africa have been predominantly led by men; however, women also held important roles. Women's roles in African independence movements were diverse and varied by each country. Many women believed that their liberation was directly linked to the liberation of their countries. Women participated in various anti-colonial roles, ranging from grassroots organising to providing crucial support during the struggle for independence. Their activities included organising protests, distributing anti-colonial propaganda, and offering vital assistance such as food and medical care to injured guerrilla soldiers. Additionally, some women actively engaged in frontline combat alongside their male counterparts. Women involved in anti-colonial efforts frequently encountered violent opposition from colonial authorities, resulting in incidents of imprisonment and torture, as consequences for their participation in such endeavors. Despite the significant contributions and hardships endured by women during the decolonisation process, their roles in the struggle for independence across the continent have often been overlooked in historical accounts. In many mainstream African history narratives, women's contributions remain largely invisible or misrepresented, leading to a lack of recognition compared to their male counterparts.
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