If there's a man who deserved to be the 1st president of Kenya, it is this man Dedan Kimathi. Born on 31st Oct 1924 in Nyeri County- Kimathi was the son of Waciuri, a rich polygamous man who died shortly after marrying his mom as the 3rd wife..

Akizaliwa, Kenya was already a British colony and infact the most attractive one. Reason being -we had the best untapped land they had never seen. A land they discovered as they built the Kenya-Uganda Railway from 1898-1901..

Which showed them the wildlife that roamed around making Kenya a perfect spot for Holiday Safaris. These beasts attracted trophy hunters like US president Theodore Roosevelt who killed 17 lions in his 1910 visit...

And also turned Kenya into a dream home for settlers who wanted to retire inna wild professional lifestyle like that of Dr Rosendo Ribiero. The doctor who had champagne for breakfast at Norfolk, played golf at Muthaiga and attended his patients in while riding a Zebra.

For others, they simply wanted to retire to a rural life that was filled with sex & drugs like that of Lady Idina Sacksville. A rich brit who threw parties in her house in Wanjohi where guests snorted coke & shared wives in wild sex orgies.

So as more Brits packed their bags in Europe to come own a piece of paradise in Mombasa or a highland to farm for export in fulfillment of the colonial dream of turning Kenya into a white man's country..

Kina Kimathi like all Kenyans were being moved into reserves to make space for them. Here, africans were banned from growing cash crops so that they'd work in settler farms to afford paying the first Kenyan rent called hut tax.

This tax was super hated by old folks lakini juu most chiefs had been pocketed by the white man with fancy gifts like mirrors & clothes, they had no option but to pay by providing labor. So Kimathi like most kids in colonial Kenya grew up in these conditions.

Looking after his mother's goats until age 15 when he started his education at Karuna-ini Primary School. Here, mans fell in love with English and poetry design his teacher even gifted him a goat for performing exemplary well.

This impressed a Mr Waithangi Muthui who took him in and paid his tuition fee of 9 pence per month. However on one fateful day, Kimathi stole 2 shillings from him na the man angrily threw him out & stopped paying his school fees.

This angered Kimathi but instead of whining like beeech, he came up with a great plan to support his studies. He started teaching his friends who didn't go to school what he learnt during the day na they paid him with paraffin or soap which he sold at the market.

This plan worked for 3 years until he joined a more advanced school at Wandumbi where the fees was a bit higher. So in a bid to raise more mulla for fees, mans wandered in Aberdare forest in search of Grevillia Robusta tree seeds that he sold to Kenya Forestry...

A hustle that kept him in school & showed him routes important in his later life as a Mau Mau. Luckily while collecting these seeds in the forest, he met a Sikh Forestry Officer in 1940 who employed him to carry his suitcase as he was headed to Murang'a.

Kimathi carried this briefcase for some days until when he noticed that they had left the vicinity of Nyeri. Cunningly, he vanished with it and ran back home where he used the fortune to enroll at the Church of Scotland school in Tumutumu- the best at the time.

While here, mans learnt and challenged the white mans way of life that belittled Africans like calling their healers witch doctors. This fastened his expulsion from the school in 1944 b/c he could also not afford paying school fees, sth that left him with no option .

But to go home where he worked diff jobs to manage paying poll tax & avoid forced labor. He hustled as a dairy clerk, timber clerk, a hides seller & as a farm clerk in Narumoru where he stole a bicycle from a farm owner and rode it back to his home in Tetu in 1949.

Using his little education, he got a teaching job at his former primary school lakini after working for 3 months, mans moved to Ol Kalou. Reason being - the school council wanted him to be arrested for "hard" teachings

In Ol Kalou, he worked as a farm clerk and participated in political events organized by Kenya African Union (KAU) that advocated for land rights. Here, he voiced his opinions eloquently which got him voted as the secretary of KAU in Ol Kalou.

A position he used to voice the opinion of young men which was different from that of the older gen. U see unlike KAU leaders who were old and advocated for talks with the brits, these young men wanted to take back their land forcefully.

They started taking secret night oaths as Mau Mau in preparation of the war. This was fought by chiefs like Waruhiu of Kiambu who held anti Mau Mau crusades where he even invited Kenyatta to convince them that it was a bad idea as said in UK Parliament..

A move that put a price on his head that was collected on 7th Oct 1952 by men who shot him dead in his car. This shocked the colonial government who in response announced a State of Emergency before attending the chief's burial together with Jomo Kenyatta...

A man they jailed the next day to try and scare the Mau Mau. Gladly,this arrest only inspired more organization na Kimathi rode back home to mobilize & administer oaths to men ready to fight for their land. On 22nd Oct, a group of men invited him at River Gura in Othaya...

Where he went lakini the problem was that with the Emergency in effect, all chiefs had been instructed to disrupt any youthful gathering. So when Kimathi arrived, Chief Nderi of Nyeri rushed to stop him but the young men hacked him to death which led to Kimathis arrest.

Luckily while in custody, Kimathi noticed that he had given the Mau Mau oath to 1 tribal cop so he offered him his bike in exchange of freedom,a book & pen. The cop freed him & he ran into the Forest at the age of 32 ready for war. All he left was dust & this WANTED POSTER!

For part 2 https://x.com/mainandegwa232/s...

@mainandegwa232 Hii thread ikona details mingi we never learnt in school

@IanKirimi14 Mngefunzwa mngejam sana

@mainandegwa232 Hizi story hadi receipt za 18 man unapataaje...a nice story hapa at least inafanya tujue penye nchi imetoka...but nikama kuna part three ausio...kazi nzuri sana.

@masangaben254 Ziko online mzing

@mainandegwa232 Using the word defied instead of 'defeated' would be better, the Brits did murder him