This archive report was first published on 26 October 2019.
On October 26, 2019, the news of a lifetime broke out as the remains of Mau Mau hero Dedan Kimathi were finally found 65 years after he was buried alive in 1957 in an unmarked grave by the colonialists at Kamiti Maximum Prison.
According to Evelyn Wanjugu Kimathi, CEO of the Dedan Kimathi Foundation, 'This development is not just great news for the Dedan Kimathi family but also the larger freedom struggle heroes fraternity. We now remain fingers crossed as we wait for Chief Justice David Maraga to allow for the excavation and exhumation of the Kimathi’s remains for a decent burial.'
Kimathi, a native of the Mt. Kenya region, played a pivotal role in the Mau Mau freedom fighting, which ultimately won Kenya its independence. His name has lived on for years, and he has been immortalized with a number of institutions, a street, and a monument in Nairobi's CBD.
However, the question remains whether Kimathi will be granted a state burial, a privilege that has only been given to the founding President, Jomo Kenyatta, who has a special mausoleum at the heart of the CBD.
With the discovery of his remains, the Kimathi family will have the opportunity to send off their patriarch in the respect he deserved.
