Dedan Kimathi Executed
In the early morning of 18 February 1957, Dedan Kimathi Waciuri was executed by hanging at the Kamiti Maximum Security Prison, and according to documentation, buried within its grounds, in Nairobi, Kenya. Kimathi 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. Along with Muthoni Kirima, Musa Mwariama, Kimathi was one of the three Mau Mau Field Marshals, and they were supported by Kubu Kubu, General China and Baimungi M’marete.
Dedan Kimathi, was born Kimathi wa Waciuri, on 31 October 1920, in Thege (or Thegenge) village, at Kanyinya, Tetu Division, near Nyeri in central Kenya. His father died before he was born. Kimathi received early education during the colonial period under extremely difficult conditions. He entered elementary school at the age of fifteen and went on to join the Tumutumu Church of Scotland Mission Secondary School in the region. Kimathi was reputed to be smart in class, and his school records reflected that he was exceptionally intelligent. He was particularly good in English and poetry and an ardent member of the debate club.
However, he was also known to be very naughty and stubborn. Some historians have attributed his rebellious character not to his hatred for white rule, but rather the unfair treatment he felt he was given by black peo
