Remember these pre-independence female Shujaas

Colonial hero Elosi Mukami Kimathi (on wheelchair) the widow of freedom fighter Dedan Kimathi, chats with with Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga during the 63rd anniversary of his death at Dedan Kimathi Memorial High School in  Nyeri County on February 18, 2020. 

Photo credit: Nicholas Komu | Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

  • Several women in the ‘land freedom army’ popularly known as Mau Mau stand out for their roles.
  • Brigadier Njoki wa Gaching’a led a forest fighters’ platoon in Murang’a where she still lives.
  • Mukami wa Kimathi was a forest fighter in the Karia-ini Camp.
  • Field Marshall Muthoni wa Kirima was a platoon fighter in Nyeri.
  • Syokimau prophesied the occupation of the Akamba by white people.
  • Among the Giriama, two women stand out; Mekatilili wa Menza and the less known Mepoho.
  • Among the Abagusii, Moraa wa Ngiti was a vocal prophetess.

How many Kenyan women freedom fighters do you know by name? A discussion of Kenya’s pre-independence shujaas (heroes) is often centred on men from the early diviners such as Lenana among the Maasai, Koitalel Arap Samoei among the Nandi, Mugo wa Kibiru among the Kikuyus, Luanda Magere among the Luos and Nabongo Mumia among the Wanga.

Despite women’s participation in the fight against colonial occupation, there is little documentation on their important role, leading to systemic erasures in public life. This has had profound impact on the country’s social, cultural and economic development.

Socially excluding women’s heroic contributions to history robs girls and young women role models who can inspire them to rise above narrowly defined gender roles. It is also a missed opportunity for boys and men to view women beyond the traditional stereotypical assumptions about a ‘weaker sex’ and ‘damsels in distress’.

Brigadier Njoki wa Gaching’a

Several women in the ‘land freedom army’ popularly known as Mau Mau stand out for their roles. They include Brigadier Njoki wa Gaching’a, one of the most senior women in the Mau Mau movement. She led a forest fighters’ platoon in Murang’a where she still lives. Mukami wa Kimathi, was not only wife of Field Marshal Dedan Kimathi, but also a forest fighter in the Karia-ini Camp as detailed in the biography on her life written by Wairimu Nderitu.

Field Marshall Muthoni wa Kirima was a platoon fighter in Nyeri, while others like Jane Muthoni Mara, a plaintiff in the Mau Mau case against the British was an informer, a crucial role in the movement.

According to Prof Margaret Gachihi, a historian at the University of Nairobi, women not only played support roles such as informers, but also as fighters in their own right. It is no wonder some of them were labelled ‘hardcore’. About 8,000 of them were imprisoned in the Kamiti and Gitamayu detention camps between 1954 and 1960.

Anti-colonial struggle

Beyond central Kenya and the Mau Mau, many other women made important contributions to the anti-colonial struggle.

Many people live in Syokimau and take the train from Syokimau to town centre or to Mombasa. But do you know that Syokimau was a famous Akamba prophetess? She prophesied the occupation of the Akamba by white people, the building of skyscrapers and the construction of a railway line. All that Syokimau prophesied came to be and we are glad a statue to iconize her stands at the Syokimau train station.

Among the Giriama, two women stand out. The famous Mekatilili wa Menza born around 1840s and the less known Mepoho, who was a Giriama diviner. Mepoho prophesied the colonial occupation while Mekatilili actively fought against the British occupation, leading warriors against British caravans traversing among the Giriama to the hinterland till she was exiled in the hinterland. She escaped her captors and walked back to her people and continued to resist.

Gusii battalion

Among the Abagusii, Moraa wa Ngiti was a vocal prophetess who encouraged resisting the colonial occupation. Moraa inspired her nephew Otenyo Nyamaterere, a warrior who led a Gusii battalion of warriors to launch an attack against British forces in 1907, leading to a counterattack where Otenyo was killed.

Women shujaas paid a heavy price for their role in history. They were sexually abused, physically injured, imprisoned, exiled and killed by the colonial government. A failure to know their names, acknowledge, preserve and honour their contributions means our understanding of history is somewhat false and ungracious.

Colonial occupation

Our analysis here is partly in thanks to the work by the National Museums of Kenya and the Google Arts and Culture project in preserving the biographies of key women shujaas. But so many other women remain unnamed and forgotten by history.

As we celebrate Mashujaa Day today (October 20) we challenge the government to continue investing in reclaiming and celebrating women shujaas from those historically involved in resistance against the colonial occupation, to contemporary ones.

County governments can support research projects by school children to celebrate local ‘sheroes’ as well as iconise them through publications, statues, roads and buildings to inspire the next generation to live their lives courageously as the shujaas of yesteryears.

Dr Njoki Wamai is an Assistant Professor of International Relations at USIU-A. [email protected]

Dinfin Mulupi is a Journalism Studies PhD student at the University of Maryland, USA. [email protected]