Dedan Kimathi Waciuri, born Kimathi wa Waciuri, was the senior most military and spiritual leader during the Mau Mau Uprising. Widely regarded as a revolutionary leader, he led an armed military struggle against the British colonial regime in Kenya in the 1950s until his capture in 1957. Kimathi was one of the Field Marshals in the Mau Mau military ranks.
Kimathi is credited with leading efforts to create formal military structures within the Mau Mau, and convening a war council in 1953. Kenyan nationalists view him as the heroic figurehead of the Mau Mau rebellion against British colonial minority rule while the British government saw him as a terrorist.
Some of the best quotes from Dedan Kimathi are listed below.
- “I consider myself a great African patriot fighting, not for the liberation of Kenya alone, but for East Africa and the rest of the continent.” – Dedan Kimathi
- “I don’t lead terrorists. I lead Africans who want their self-government and land. God did not intend that one nation be ruled by another for ever.“ – Dedan Kimathi
- “I would rather die on my legs than live on my knees.” – Dedan Kimathi
- “The journey to freedom is full of sacrifices, tears, hunger, clothes full of lice, blood and death.” – Dedan Kimathi
- “We reject colonization in Kenya because it has turned us into slaves and beggars.” – Dedan Kimathi
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I like this man’s wit.