Mukami Kimathi the widow of freedom fighter, Field Marshal Dedan Kimathi, is still a disturbed woman.
Apart from the trauma she endured while in the forest fighting with fellow Mau Mau fighters and the torture she and other women lived through while detained at Kamiti Maximum Prison, she still does not know where her husband was buried.
On February 18 this year, the country will mark 65 years since the execution of Kimathi. Yet the widow of the freedom hero and her family still seek closure; it is all about where the colonialists buried Kenya’s steadfast liberation struggle hero.
Now at 93, her health has been deteriorating.On Sunday, January 15, 2023, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua cleared her bill amounting to slightly over Sh1 million at Nairobi Hospital after paying her a visit.
Doctors had discharged her but the hospital management had not allowed her to leave owing to the outstanding bill.
Now, gradually welcoming thoughts of departing to the other side owing to her advanced age, Mukami still holds one solemn wish; to bury the remains of the man of her youth.
Meeting Kimathi’s children at her home in Komarock, Nairobi, one thing is clear, no matter the age, a child will always be entangled with the apron strings of their mother.
Mukami’s last-born child and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Dedan Kimathi Foundation, Evelyn Wanjugu, recalls her childhood as one that was influenced by parents who were traumatised by the past.
“Growing up as Mau Mau children we found parents who were traumatised. Our parents kept asking us if they made a mistake going to the forest to fight for the nation. She kept telling us that it is like being on the field playing football but the trophy is given to the ones cheering,” says Wanjugu.
The challenge the Mau Mau faced after returning from the forest was to find their land taken, there was no room for them, they were considered outcasts.After independence Mukami Kimathi approached Prime Minister Jomo Kenyatta and requested the remains of her husband.
“The first time she asked for the remains of our father was in 1963, just after Kenyatta was sworn in. Unfortunately, she is in her sunset years and is really worried that she might leave this world without giving her husband a decent burial,” says Wanjugu.
Her sentiments are echoed by her older brother, Simon Maina Kimathi.
“Mama is a hardcore Mau Mau, she never gives up, her only wish is to bury her husband. She has so much stress that is deteriorating her health,” says Maina.
Mukami’s other wish has been the continuity of the Kimathi name. In her book, Mau Mau Freedom Fighter, she says after Kimathi was arrested by the colonialists, she was allowed one visit. He told her to make sure the name Kimathi does not die away.
That was the last time she saw her husband. He was executed the following morning.
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