63RD MADARAKA DAY

The Past, Present and the Future on the LensMadaraka Day 1963, the very day our country attained self-rule. Occuring not after a moment of ease for the resilient Kenyan people but after a bloody engagement with the British colonialists from all fronts. After the fury of the people so despised by the white settlers rose to levels that nobody woulds contain.

Struggle for Land

The 1950s marked unforgetable era in the colonial times when the Kenya Land and Freedom Army well known as the Mau Mau was formed. The main agenda was to fight for freedom and reclaim their land seized by the British. The epicentre of the war was within the central Kenya region alias the Mt. Kenya; the very place colonialists settled on the productive lands pushing the residents into concentration camps. The camps formed the pull where the white settlers monitored every movement, attained forceful labor for their vast lands and ensured the locals remained deprived of privileges to rear livestock or conduct agricultural activities beyond household consumption. All through the period, Kenyans displaced from their lands were looked down upon, abused and seggregated in their own country; most were insulted, heavily assaulted, their families broken with some going to exile for safety, their existence trampled upon while a huge number were annihilated!

Life in the Forests – A People Pushed to the Edge

At a time when it almost felt illegal to be Kenyan in own country, the Mau Mau group formed; starting from frustration to levels too high to be ignored. Hunted home and away and forced to carry ‘vipande’ and passbooks to move very limited distances, their comfortable place to live were the forests. Like animals they lived and with wild animals they existed. It would be said animals were better to them than the colonialists were; a problem of gigantic proportion.

Madaraka Day 2026 — Remembering 63 Years of Self-Governance

As we marked the Madaraka Day 2026 on 1st June, celebrating 63 years of self-governance, these were the exact memories freshened in the minds of the few people who participated in the liberation struggle. They remember the ordeals of the 1950s as if they took place days before. Many are the times they posed and sobbed as they remembered the dark days. Their tones defined pain and bitterness with a tender touch of love for their country. They hold the national freedom dearly and vow to protect the country to their last breath.

A Somber Gathering at Shujaa Mukami Kimathi’s Residence

On this day, the mood was very sombre at Shujaa Mukami Kimathi’s residence in Njabini – Nyandarua County. In numbers, Njabini residents, Sasumua Dam community leaders and members, Kinangop Technical and Vocational College, Tana and Athi Rivers Development Authority, Eco-Hope Organization and Ndunyu Njeru Cultural Group attended an event dubbed ‘Uzalendo na Uhifadhi wa Mazingira’. our senior citizens interacted beautifully with our younger generation. Through songs they brought their freedom struggle days to the present as they participated in seed sowing, pricking, weeding and watering seedlings at the Dedan Kimathi Foundation Legacy Tree nursery at Njabini. Their songs emphasized on the unity, love and the secrecy the Mau Mau had in the deep forests from where they strategically planned attacks on the colonizers. In honor of the forests’ homage, each of the elderlies sowed seeds with utmost love as an act of honor to those who dedicated their lives to the struggle.

A Younger Generation Learns the Truth

It was astonishing to learn that the younger generation, most of whom were in the audience that day, did not know what transpired in the forests. With shock their learned full details from the experiences of the fighters cementing the fact that kenyan freedom was not served to them on a silver platter. For moments they admired the zeal of the long and recently gone freedom heroes such as Field Marshal Dedan Kimathi Wachiuri, Field Marshal Mukami Kimathi, Field Marshal Muthoni Kirima, General China, General Matenjagwo, General Kago alias ‘the Black Napoleon’, General Baimunge Marete, General Mwariama among others who put their lives at stake for freedom and land.

Unfinished Justice – The Cry of the Freedom Fighters

Despite the struggles they went through and the victory they achieved upon attainment of independence, the remnant still express their concerns over the acknowledgement of their contribution in the freedom struggle. Most of them remain poor and dejected in small portions of land they can barely live on with their grown families. They feel betrayed by the government their comrades died to put in place. They never cease to call for justice on land re-allocation and compensation for their losses in the struggle.

A Message to the Youth – Love Your Country More Than Yourself

As most of them navigate their old age with confusion, lack and dissatisfaction rising from unkept promises, they pass a very intriguing lesson to the young people,’Fight for what is yours but love your country more than you love yourself!’

A Call from Ms. Wanjugu Kimathi

This message was amplified by Ms. Wanjugu Kimathi, the Dedan Kimathi Foundation CEO and Daughter of the Mau Mau Icon Dedan Kimathi. With teary eyes and heart heavy with emotion, she called upon the young people to actively participate in governance of the country through the right actions. She further urged them to follow the right channels to achieve their desired leadership to attend their issues of unemployment, education, empowerment and national hard economic state. She pleaded with them not to be in numbers that loot, destroy and victimize other citizens in the name of peaceful demonstrations.