45-649: Dedan Kimathi Waciuri (born Kimathi wa Waciuri ; 31 October 1920 – 18 February 1957) was the leader of the Kenya Land and Freedom Army during the Mau Mau Uprising (1952–1960) against the British colonial rule in Kenya in the 1950s. He was captured by the British in 1956 and executed in 1957. Kenya gained independence in 1963. Kimathi is credited with leading efforts to create formal military structures within
90-401: A British colonial police officer who had been on an "obsessive hunt" for Kimathi, managed to trap him in his hide-out in the forest. Kimathi was shot in the leg and captured by a Tribal Policeman called Ndirangu Mau who found Kimathi armed with a panga (a bladed African tool like a machete). His capture marked the beginning of the end of the forest war; the image of Kimathi being carried away on
135-466: A dance called the dança dos facões (machetes' dance) in which the dancers, who are usually men, bang their machetes against various surfaces while dancing, simulating a battle. Maculelê , an Afro-Brazilian dance and martial art, can also be performed with facões . This practice began in the city of Santo Amaro, Bahia , in the northeastern part of the country. In the Philippines , the bolo
180-462: A letter to a Father Marino asking him to get his son an education: "He is far from many of your schools, but I trust that something must be done to see that he starts earlier under your care." He also wrote about his wife, Mukami, saying "She is detained at Kamiti Prison and I suggest that she will be released some time. I would like her to be comforted by sisters e.g. Sister Modester, etc. for she too feels lonely. And if by any possibility she can be near
225-569: A liberation army... Now If I must leave you and my family I have nothing to regret about. My blood will water the tree of Independence." In the early morning of 18 February 1957 he was executed by hanging at the Kamiti Maximum Security Prison . He was buried in an unmarked grave , and his burial site remained unknown for 62 years until 25 October 2019 when the Dedan Kimathi Foundation reported that
270-573: A long overdue recognition of the Mau Mau for their part in the struggle for independence. This was in marked contrast to the post-colonial norm of the Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel Arap Moi governments' regard of the Mau Mau as terrorists. On 12 September 2015, the British government unveiled a Mau Mau memorial statue in Nairobi's Uhuru Park that it funded "as a symbol of reconciliation between
315-656: A name for the blow of a machete; the Spanish machetazo is sometimes used in English. In the British Virgin Islands , Grenada , Jamaica , Saint Kitts and Nevis , Barbados , Saint Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago , the word planass means to hit someone with the flat of the blade of a machete or cutlass. To strike with the sharpened edge is to "chop". Throughout the English-speaking islands of
360-536: A rifle in the right hand and a dagger in the left, the last weapons he held in his struggle. The foundation stone for the statue was laid by Vice President Awori on 11 December 2006 and the completed statue unveiled by President Kibaki on 18 February 2007 coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the day he was executed. In his remarks, Kibaki paid homage to Kimathi as a man who not only paid the ultimate price for Kenya's liberation but also inspired others to fight against oppression. The statue attracted praise from Kenyans as
405-470: A robust and effective information system that combined oral experiences of ordinary Kenyans with print works. Songs were produced to pass on important information and to raise political consciousness and at the same time newspapers would be published. The KFLA published over 50 newspapers in different languages such as Swahili , Kikuyu and other Kenyan languages . KFLA members also produced a large amount of sound recordings and had their own presses. Though
450-541: A stretcher was printed in leaflets by the British (over 120,000 were distributed), to demoralise the Mau Mau and their supporters. Kimathi was charged with possession of a .38 Webley Scott revolver. A court presided over by Chief Justice O'Connor with three African assessors sentenced him to death while he lay in a hospital bed at the General Hospital Nyeri . His appeal was dismissed, and the death sentence upheld. The day before his execution, he wrote
495-499: Is a variant used in East and Southern Africa . This name may be of Swahili etymology; not to be confused with the panga fish . The panga blade broadens on the backside and has a length of 41 to 46 cm (16 to 18 in). The upper inclined portion of the blade may be sharpened. Other similar tools include the parang and the golok (from Malaysia and Indonesia ); however, these tend to have shorter, thicker blades with
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#1732791929263540-496: Is common to see people using machetes for other jobs, such as splitting open coconuts , yard work, removing small branches and plants, chopping animals' food, and clearing bushes. Machetes are often considered tools and used by adults. However, many hunter–gatherer societies and cultures surviving through subsistence agriculture begin teaching babies to use sharp tools, including machetes, before their first birthdays. People in uprisings sometimes use these weapons. For example,
585-712: Is manufactured by Indústria de Material Bélico do Brasil ( IMBEL ). The machete was used as a weapon during the Mau Mau rebellion , in the Rwandan Genocide, and in South Africa , particularly in the 1980s and early 1990s when the former province of Natal was wracked by conflict between the African National Congress and the Zulu -nationalist Inkatha Freedom Party . Good machetes rely on
630-474: Is now called the Mau Mau uprising in 1952. After four years of counterinsurgency operations, British forces managed to largely neutralise the KFLA as a military threat, and Kimathi was captured and executed by the colonial authorities in 1957. The Mau Mau rebellion was fully defeated by 1960. During the rebellion, thousands of KFLA insurgents were killed by the British, including 1,090 people who were executed by
675-589: Is used in training in eskrima , the indigenous martial art of the Philippines. In the Jalisco region of Mexico , Los Machetes is a popular folk dance. This dance tells the story of cutting down sugar cane during the harvest. Los Machetes was created by Mexican farm workers who spent a great amount of time perfecting the use of the tool, the machete, for harvesting. Traditionally, real machetes are used while performing this dance. The panga or tapanga
720-614: The Boricua Popular Army are unofficially called macheteros because of the machete-wielding laborers of sugar cane fields of past Puerto Rico . Many of the killings in the 1994 Rwandan genocide were performed with machetes, and they were the primary weapon used by the Interahamwe militias there. Machetes were also a distinctive tool and weapon of the Haitian Tonton Macoute . In 1762,
765-712: The British captured Havana in a lengthy siege during the Seven Years' War . Volunteer militiamen led by Pepe Antonio, a Guanabacoa councilman, were issued with machetes during the unsuccessful defense of the city. The machete was also the most iconic weapon during the independence wars in Cuba, although it saw limited battlefield use. Carlos Manuel de Céspedes , owner of the sugar refinery La Demajagua near Manzanillo , freed his slaves on 10 October 1868. He proceeded to lead them, armed with machetes, in revolt against
810-549: The Caribbean , the term 'cutlass' refers to a laborers' cutting tool. The Brazilian Army 's Instruction Center on Jungle Warfare developed a machete-style knife with a blade 25 cm (10 in) in length and a very pronounced clip point . This machete is issued with a 13 cm (5 in) Bowie knife and a sharpening stone in the scabbard; collectively called a "jungle kit" ( Conjunto de Selva in Portuguese ); it
855-470: 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 KLFA 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
900-633: The Spanish language , the word is possibly a diminutive form of the word macho , which was used to refer to sledgehammers. Alternatively, its origin may be machaera , the name given by the Greeks and Romans to the falcata . It is the origin of the English language equivalent term matchet , though this is rarely used. In much of the English-speaking Caribbean, such as Jamaica, Barbados, Guyana, Grenada, and Trinidad and Tobago,
945-487: The "last chiefs of the Mau-Mau freedom terrorists". Panga (knife) A machete ( / m ə ˈ ʃ ɛ t i / ; Spanish pronunciation: [maˈtʃete] ) is a broad blade used either as an agricultural implement similar to an axe , or in combat like a long-bladed knife . The blade is typically 30 to 66 centimetres (12 to 26 in) long and usually under 3 millimetres ( 1 ⁄ 8 in) thick. In
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#1732791929263990-495: The British government, the Mau Mau, and all those who suffered". This followed a June 2013 decision by Britain to compensate more than 5,000 Kenyans tortured and abused during the Mau Mau insurgency. Kimathi was held in high regard by anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela . In July 1990, five months after his release from 27 years of imprisonment by South Africa's apartheid regime, Mandela visited Nairobi and requested to see Kimathi's grave and meet his widow Mukami. Mandela's request
1035-499: The British settlers had gradually stripped away from them. As the group's influence and membership widened it became a major threat to the colonial government. Upon taking the oath of the Mau Mau, Kimathi in 1951 joined the Forty Group , the militant wing of the defunct Kikuyu Central Association . As branch secretary, Kimathi presided over oath-taking. He believed in compelling fellow Kikuyu by way of oath to bring solidarity to
1080-466: The English-speaking Caribbean, Robert Mole & Sons of Birmingham, England, was long considered the manufacturer of agricultural cutlasses of the best quality. Some Robert Mole blades survive as souvenirs of travellers to Trinidad, Jamaica, and, less commonly, St. Lucia. Colombia is the largest exporter of machetes worldwide. The flag of Angola features a machete, along with a cog-wheel . The southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul has
1125-522: The KFLA in detention camps , with some estimates of the number of detainees being as high as 320,000 people. Torture was widespread against detainees, and in 1959 11 prisoners were killed by camp guards in the Hola massacre . The KFLA also committed numerous atrocities, including the Lari massacre , and murdered at least 1,819 Kenyan civilians. A KFLA platoon consisted between 500 and 2,000 insurgents. If
1170-637: The Mau Mau rebellion was ultimately suppressed, it played a major role in achieving Kenyan independence, which occurred on 12 December 1963 . After independence, former KFLA general Bamuingi continued to lead a team of former KFLA insurgents which were killed by Kenyan security forces operating under the command of Jomo Kenyatta . They had returned to the forests in 1965 to fight against the new Kenyan government, claiming that independence only benefited pro-British collaborators and political moderates. Their bodies were paraded in Meru Township for three days as
1215-637: The Mau Mau, and convening a war council in 1953. He, along with Baimungi M'marete , Musa Mwariama , Kubu Kubu , General China and Muthoni Kirima , was one of the Field Marshals. Kenyan nationalists view him as a freedom fighter in the Kenyan struggle for independence, while the British colonial authorities saw him as a terrorist. Despite being viewed negatively by Kenya's first two presidents, Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel arap Moi , Kimathi and his fellow Mau Mau rebels were officially recognised as heroes in
1260-740: The Spanish government. The first cavalry charge using machetes as the primary weapon was carried out on 4 November 1868 by Máximo Gómez , a sergeant born in the Dominican Republic , who later became the general in chief of the Cuban Army . The machete is a common side arm and tool for many ethnic groups in West Africa . Machetes in this role are referenced in Chinua Achebe 's Things Fall Apart . Some countries have
1305-614: The bell and rang it loudly while atop the Tumutumu hill. The missionaries were however lenient, his name still remains in the preserved school register. In 1940, Kimathi enlisted in the British Army , but was discharged after a month, allegedly for drunkenness and persistent violence against his fellow recruits. He moved from job to job, from swineherd to primary school teacher, from which he was dismissed after accusations of violence against his pupils. His close associates however said he
1350-445: The certificate, Vice President Moody Awori regretted that it had taken 40 years for the group to be officially registered despite the sacrifices the Mau Mau had made for Kenya's independence. The Kibaki government erected a 2.1 metre bronze statue titled Freedom Fighter Dedan Kimathi on a graphite plinth, in central Nairobi . The statue is at the junction of Kimathi Street and Mama Ngina Street. Kimathi, clad in military regalia, holds
1395-568: The colonial authorities. Official numbers state that 11,000 insurgents were killed, though the Kenya Human Rights Commission has estimated that "90,000 Kenyans were executed, tortured or maimed during the crackdown, and 160,000 were detained in appalling conditions". Oxford University professor David Anderson estimated that up to 25,000 people were killed during the conflict. The colonial administration also interned at least 80,000 Kenyans suspected of being affiliated with
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1440-586: The grave-site had been identified at the Kamiti Prison grounds. Kimathi was married to Mukami Kimathi. Among their children are sons Wachiuri and Maina and daughters Nyambura, Waceke, Wangeci, Nyakinyua Nyawira, Muthoni, Wangui and Wanjugu. The government constructed a three-bedroomed house for Mukami at her farm in Kinangop , Nyandarua County in 2009 and provided her with a double cabin pickup for private use in 2012. In 2010, Kimathi's widow requested that
1485-600: The independence movement. To achieve this he administered beatings and carried a double-barrelled shotgun. His activities with the group made him a target of the colonial government, and he was briefly arrested that same year but escaped with the help of local police. This marked the beginning of his involvement in the uprising, and he formed the Kenya Defence Council to co-ordinate all forest fighters in 1953. Kimathi's fight for an independent Kenya came to an end in 1956. On 21 October of that year, Ian Henderson ,
1530-542: The materials used and the shape. In the past, the most famous manufacturer of machetes in Latin America and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean was Collins Company of Collinsville , Connecticut . The company was founded as Collins & Company in 1826 by Samuel W. Collins to make axes . Its first machetes were sold in 1845 and became so famous that a machete was called un collin . In
1575-403: The mission as near Mathari so that she may be so close to the sisters and to the church." He asked to see his wife, and the morning of the execution Mukami was allowed to see Kimathi. The two chatted for close to two hours. He told her that "I have no doubt in my mind that the British are determined to execute me. I have committed no crime. My only crime is that I am a Kenyan revolutionary who led
1620-402: The platoon numbered in the thousands, its general was assisted by a colonel and a brigadier . KFLA generals included Chui, Kassam Njogu, China, Stanley Mathenge , Kubu Kubu and Bamuingi. The capture of Kimathi on 21 October 1956, fatally crippled the KFLA, and ultimately played a major role in ending the rebellion. One of the most important achievements of the KFLA was the development of
1665-522: The search for her husband's body be renewed so she could give him a proper burial. Mukami Kimathi died on 4 or 5 May 2023 and was buried in Njabini Kinangop. On 11 November 2003, the Kibaki government formally registered the Mau Mau movement, disregarding the colonial-era legislation that had outlawed the organisation and branded its members "terrorists". In his remarks during the handing over of
1710-586: The struggle for Kenyan independence under the Mwai Kibaki administration , culminating in the unveiling of a Kimathi statue in 2007. This was reinforced by the passage of a new Constitution in 2010 calling for recognition of national heroes. Kimathi was born in Thegenge Village, Tetu division, in today's Nyeri County . His father died in September 1920, a month before Kimathi was born. Kimathi
1755-474: The term cutlass is used for these agricultural tools. In various tropical and subtropical countries, the machete is frequently used to cut through rainforest undergrowth and for agricultural purposes (e.g. cutting sugar cane ). Besides this, in Latin America a common use is for such household tasks as cutting large foodstuffs into pieces—much as a cleaver is used—or to perform crude cutting tasks, such as making simple wooden handles for other tools. It
1800-419: Was a Debate Club member in his school and also showed ability in poetry. Kimathi balked at any efforts to discipline or control him, and was constantly in trouble with his teachers; as a result, he drifted in and out of the educational system. Tumutumu could not contain his rebellious nature. It is alleged he even tried to paralyze learning at the institution by stealing the school bell. His associates said he took
1845-645: Was an embarrassing moment for the Moi administration, which had largely ignored Kimathi, like Jomo Kenyatta's government before it. It was an awkward moment searching for her in the village where she and her family lived forgotten in poverty. Mandela's request was not met. During a public address at the Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi before he left the country, Mandela stated his admiration for Kimathi, Musa Mwariama , Waruhiu Itote , Kubu Kubu and other Mau Mau leaders who inspired his own struggle against injustice. It
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1890-633: Was dismissed for ranting about the school administration. Around 1947 or 1948, while working in Ol Kalou , Kimathi came into contact with members of the Kenya African Union (KAU). By 1950 he had become secretary to the KAU branch at Ol Kalou, which was controlled by militant supporters of the Mau Mau cause. The Mau Mau began as the Kenya Land and Freedom Army (KLFA), a militant Kikuyu , Embu and Meru army which sought to reclaim land, which
1935-649: Was only 15 years later in 2005, during his second visit to Kenya, that Mandela finally managed to meet Mukami as well as two of Kimathi's children. Mandela's respect for Kimathi by the early 1960s is also alluded to in My Moment with a Legend by Ronnie Kasrils , the former intelligence chief of the ANC's armed wing Umkhonto We Sizwe (MK) and defence minister in Mandela's government. Kenya Land and Freedom Army The Kenya Land and Freedom Army ( KLFA ), also known as
1980-404: Was raised by his mother, Waibuthi, one of his father's three wives. He had two brothers, Wambararia and Wagura, and two sisters. At the age of fifteen, he enrolled at the local primary school, Karuna-ini, where he perfected his English . He continued his education in the secondary school Tumutumu CMS School. He was a passionate writer, and wrote extensively before and during the Mau Mau uprising. He
2025-459: Was ultimately suppressed, it played a major role in achieving Kenya's independence, which occurred in 1963. The KLFA's membership consisted largely of the Kikuyu people , many of whom had their lands confiscated by British colonial officials and given to white settlers during the early 20th century. The KFLA espoused African nationalist and anti-colonial ideologies, and was led by Dedan Kimathi for most of its existence. The KFLA began what
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