Podcasts about Dedan Kimathi

À l'occasion des 60 ans de l'indépendance du Kenya, troisième volet de notre série sur les Mau Mau. Ces combattants qui se sont battus pour l'indépendance du Kenya dans les années 1950 ont été violemment réprimés par les colons britanniques. Plus d'un millier de personnes ont été pendues. Parmi elles, un des chefs Mau Mau : Dedan Kimathi. Considéré comme un terroriste et traqué par les Britanniques, il a été arrêté en 1956, puis pendu un an plus tard. Depuis, sa famille se bat pour obtenir sa dépouille et lui offrir une sépulture.  De notre correspondante à Nairobi,La statue de Dedan Kimathi trône dans le centre-ville de Nairobi. On le voit debout, en tenue de combat, un fusil à la main. Il porte des dreadlocks, coiffure emblématique des combattants Mau Mau. Le monument a été érigé en 2007, cinquante ans après sa pendaison. Evelyn Kimathi est une des descendantes de l'indépendantiste. « C'est bien, pour notre famille, mais aussi pour tous les combattants de la liberté, car Dedan Kimathi est un symbole pour beaucoup, cette statue a apporté une forme d'apaisement. Mais nous gardons en tête qu'il n'a toujours pas eu droit à un enterrement décent. Donc, la lutte continue », dit-elle.« Nous ne perdons pas espoir »L'on sait que Dedan Kimathi est enterré à la prison de Kamiti, en banlieue de Nairobi, où il a été pendu. Sa veuve s'est battue pour obtenir sa dépouille, jusqu'à son décès en mai dernier. Lors de son enterrement, le président kényan William Ruto s'est engagé à faire exhumer le corps du chef Mau Mau. « On attend toujours de voir cette annonce se concrétiser. C'est le cinquième gouvernement depuis l'indépendance et tous ont fait preuve d'un manque de volonté. Mais nous ne perdons pas espoir, nous en avons besoin pour aller de l'avant. Ce serait comme un tampon qui reconnaîtrait que les Mau Mau ont libéré le pays. Si nous sommes ici aujourd'hui, c'est grâce à eux ! », explique Evelyn.Pour expliquer ce surplace, certains dénoncent des enjeux politiques, alors que la mémoire des Mau Mau reste controversée aujourd'hui. Mais retrouver les restes de l'ancien chef n'est pas simple. C'est ce qu'explique David Anderson, professeur d'histoire africaine à l'université de Warwick au Royaume-Uni. « Sa dépouille a été enterrée au même endroit que celles de tous les Mau Mau qui ont été pendus à la prison de Kamiti : dans le terrain vague à l'arrière du bâtiment. Le problème auquel fait face le gouvernement kényan, c'est qu'il n'y a pas seulement Dedan Kimathi qui y est enterré. C'étaient des fosses communes, tous ceux qui ont été pendus ce matin-là ont été enterrés ensemble et les fosses ne sont pas identifiées. Donc, pour retrouver les restes de Kimathi, il faut d'abord avoir un bon échantillon ADN. Et puis, ensuite, déterrer plusieurs centaines de corps et effectuer des tests ADN sur tous. Personne ne s'est lancé dans le processus. C'est coûteux, difficile et sans garantie de succès. »Dans l'attente d'une sépulture, les hommages au célèbre chef Mau Mau se multiplient. En plus de la statue, une rue porte son nom dans le centre-ville de la capitale. Tout comme une université et un stade à Nyeri, dans la région du Mont Kenya, fief des Mau Mau.► À lire aussi : Kenya: la mémoire des Mau Mau [2/3]► À lire aussi : Kenya: les Mau Mau, figures de l'indépendance du Kenya [1/3]

At "Until Everyone Is Free," we're here to talk about power and freedom. Our last season focused on the life and work of Pio Gama Pinto, who organized various movements that paved the way for independence in Kenya. We remember Pinto so that we can understand how Kenya got free without its people getting free… in other words, why independence is not the same as decolonization. On 7 October 2023, Hamas launched an offensive attack on Israel, killing over 1,300 Israelis, over 1,000 of whom were civilians. As of Nov 6, Israel has rained over 18,000 tons of bombs on Gaza, committing war crimes and committing genocide on Palestinians. As of Nov 6, more than 10,000 Palestinians have been killed, including over 4,000 children. It is impossible to count how many have been killed because the genocide has not stopped. The death toll continues to rise—as much of the western world cheers Israel on. Many people around the world shake their heads, asking “Why can't we humans just make peace? Why can't both sides stop fighting?” Many Kenyans have this attitude too, and many simply feel that this is a very complex history with no end in sight. This attitude is shameful and morally bankrupt.  Kenyans should remember that the Kenya Land and Freedom Army, or Mau Mau, were also called terrorists for their violent resistance. There was violence on “both sides” then too. But most Kenyans seem to understand why the side fighting for their own freedom chose to do so. Kenyans should support those fighting global imperialism, which also oppresses us.  We created this special episode to help Kenyans understand the parallels between the fight against settler colonialism here and that in Palestine. We dedicate this episode to Palestinians who are teaching us every day what Dedan Kimathi said: “It is better to die on our feet than live on our knees.”

The Dedan Kimathi Post Office played a notable role in Kenya's struggle for Independence.GREAT NEWS: We're up for an award - and you can help us win!  Our podcast has been named a finalist for the Signal Awards! Go to vote.signalaward.com and vote for us in the best commute podcast category through Oct 5!

History often leaves many vital figures out, and only after a few years does their absence stand out. We meet two anti-colonial fighters, Dedan Kimathi and Ngungunyane, and find out why their legacies were left to fade, and why great efforts have been made to remember them.

The Dedan Kimathi Post Office played a notable role in Kenya's struggle for Independence.

BABA amecheza mchezo wa siasa kwa kupiga magoti mbele ya mjane wa shujaa Dedan Kimathi kupokea baraka. Ametoa ahadi ya kuwafadhili kwa namna wakereketwa wa Mau Mau. Ahadi kwa wakereketwa hao zisiwe ahadi za kawaida za wanasiasa kama ilivyokuwa ahadi za viwanja vya michezo ambazo Jubilee ilizotoa 2013.

In the first episode of The Kenyanist, Kamau Wairuri (host) talks to Melissa Wanjiru-Mwita, a lecturer in Spatial Planning at the Technical University of Kenya in Nairobi. Melissa argues that street names reflect what those in power want us to remember or forget.   In the first segment, we go back in time to trace the emergence of Nairobi City around the Railway Depot and how the streets were named. Noting that after Kenya became a Crown Colony in 1920, the British were more deliberate about naming the streets. One of the ways of claiming a space is to imprint a name on it. Melissa notes that the Africans were marginalised while some Asians got recognition.   In the second segment, we trace the renaming of the streets in Nairobi in the post-colonial period. We note that many streets took the names of Kenya (such as Dedan Kimathi and Harry Thuku) and African nationalists (such as Albert Luthuli and Kwame Nkrumah). However, many of the freedom fighters, including the Kapenguria 6 who had been detained by the colonial government were not honoured in this way. We also note that many streets were named after people who had close ties to Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, the first president of Kenya, even where their contribution to the struggle for independence may not be commensurate with the honour. We examine the politics of naming a street after Tom Mboya, the charismatic politician who was assassinated in Nairobi in 1969, especially the refusal to rename Government Road after him. The street was then renamed 'Moi Avenue' after Daniel arap Moi took over as the second President of Kenya. In this section, we also discuss the gender dynamics of street naming noting how women heroes of the liberation movement such as Field Marshall Muthoni Nyanjiru are not recognised.   In the third segment, we look at the contemporary period. We contrast the processes of renaming of streets in Nairobi after Prof Wangari Maathai and Wambui Kenyatta. We examine the more heated debates on the renaming of streets. We note that some renaming of street such as the renaming of Accra Road after Kenneth Matiba and Cross Street after Charles Rubia have been widely accepted. However, the renaming of a street after Fidel Odinga in Mombasa and Francis Atwoli in Nairobi have been met with resistance. Similarly, the failure of the County Government of Mombasa to rename the Mama Ngina Waterfront after Mekatilili wa Menza also raised some acrimony. the Melissa calls for a better legal framework to address the issues of street naming, including outlawing the naming of streets after a living person. She also calls for better recognition of women and go beyond politicians to also honour athletes and cultural icons.  Mentioned: Melissa Wanjiru-Mwita. Nairobi's street names reveal what those in power want to remember, or forget. The Conversation. (July 30, 2020). (02.09.2021) Melissa Wanjiru. Street Toponymy and the Decolonisation of the Urban Landscape in Post-Colonial Nairobi, Journal of Cultural Geography, 34, 1 (2017), pp. 1-23. 

The British captured extensive archives belonging to the Mau Mau, which to this day have not been made public. Here for the first time, as a result of years of village - level research, historian Maina wa Kinyatti has recovered some of the movement's - and its leader, Dedan Kimathi's - most important papers. Translated in to English, they make startlingly clear movement's own perspectives on their struggle and its difficulties, the relatively advanced nature of their goals as a national liberation movement, and their radical visions of a liberated Kenyan society. Dedan Kimathi became President of Mau Mau's ruling body in August 1953 and remained its overall head until his capture and death two years later. He ordered the movement to keep documentation for the purpose of providing, as he put it, 'concentrate evidence that we fought and died for this land'. By recovering some of this material, Maina wa Kinyatti has done Kenyan history a signal service. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/pbliving/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/pbliving/support

In this episode of Breaking the Fourth Wall, Ashlee and Tim interview JoJo Siu and Sarah Timm about their thoughts on the current state of musical theatre through the lens of a costume designer. We also talk about their successful podcast The Costume Plot.Join us on Clubhouse for our weekly podcast encore event with JoJo and Sarah on Thursday at 4pm PT.JoJo Siu graduated from UCIrvine with her M.F.A. in Costume Design. She hails from Philadelphia, and has been working as a designer for film, opera, theatre and dance both nationally and internationally for over 10 years. She has worked with the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, the Santa Fe Opera, South Coast Repertory, Fullerton College, Chapman University, Backhaus Dance, OC Shakespeare Festival, Sierra Madre Playhouse, and Singapore Repertory Theatre, among many others. She is a huge advocate for Asian diversity within theatre, and loves when diversity and design can come together on the stage to represent storytelling. She loves theatre and film that is inspired by  folklore and magic--a storytelling tradition that is inherent to her own Chinese heritage and history. She’s participated in the (CAATA) Consortium of Asian American Theatres and Artists, is a member of USITT, and has designed for several world premieres, including The Trial of Dedan Kimathi, The Madres, and W.A.S.P. Her repertoire includes Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You Like It, Othello, and Twelfth Night, Importance of Being Earnest, Toys in the Attic, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Evita, Spring Awakening, Eurydice, Waiting for Godot, Never the Sinner, and Blood Wedding. Sarah Timm is a costume designer and cutter/draper working in professional theatre in Orange County. She works primarily at South Coast Repertory and Fullerton College, and has twice competed in the Her Universe Fashion Show at San Diego Comic Con.Follow Jojo on and Sarah's podcast entitled The Costume Plot on Instagram and their Podcast  website.Websites:AshleeEspinosa.comTimEspinosa.comInstagram:@ashleelynnespinosa@timespinosaofficialYoutube:Ashlee EspinosaTim EspinosaTwitter:@AshleeLEspinosaEmail us at: team@AshleeEspinosa.com

In this episode of Breaking the Fourth Wall, Ashlee and Tim interview JoJo Siu and Sarah Timm about their thoughts on the current state of musical theatre through the lens of a costume designer. We also talk about their successful podcast The Costume Plot.Join us on Clubhouse for our weekly podcast encore event with JoJo and Sarah on Thursday at 4pm PT.JoJo Siu graduated from UCIrvine with her M.F.A. in Costume Design. She hails from Philadelphia, and has been working as a designer for film, opera, theatre and dance both nationally and internationally for over 10 years. She has worked with the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, the Santa Fe Opera, South Coast Repertory, Fullerton College, Chapman University, Backhaus Dance, OC Shakespeare Festival, Sierra Madre Playhouse, and Singapore Repertory Theatre, among many others. She is a huge advocate for Asian diversity within theatre, and loves when diversity and design can come together on the stage to represent storytelling. She loves theatre and film that is inspired by folklore and magic--a storytelling tradition that is inherent to her own Chinese heritage and history. She's participated in the (CAATA) Consortium of Asian American Theatres and Artists, is a member of USITT, and has designed for several world premieres, including The Trial of Dedan Kimathi, The Madres, and W.A.S.P. Her repertoire includes Midsummer Night's Dream, As You Like It, Othello, and Twelfth Night, Importance of Being Earnest, Toys in the Attic, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Evita, Spring Awakening, Eurydice, Waiting for Godot, Never the Sinner, and Blood Wedding. Sarah Timm is a costume designer and cutter/draper working in professional theatre in Orange County. She works primarily at South Coast Repertory and Fullerton College, and has twice competed in the Her Universe Fashion Show at San Diego Comic Con.Follow Jojo on and Sarah's podcast entitled The Costume Plot on Instagram and their Podcast website.Websites:AshleeEspinosa.comTimEspinosa.comInstagram:@ashleelynnespinosa@timespinosaofficialYoutube:Ashlee EspinosaTim EspinosaTwitter:@AshleeLEspinosaEmail us at: team@AshleeEspinosa.com

The first modern planetarium opened in Munich on this day in 1923. / On this day in 1956, Mau Mau leader Dedan Kimathi was captured, signaling the effective end of the Mau Mau Uprising. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers

In 2015, University of Toronto professor Julie MacArthur decided to follow a couple more leads in the search for the long-missing, feared-lost transcript of the trial of legendary Mau Mau leader Dedan KImathi. She found herself amidst the papers of an anti-colonial London lawyer Ralph Millner who assisted the august barrister Dingle Foot in defending Kimathi before the Court of Appeals in colonial Kenya. There she found the full file of not only the appellate case, but the original trial as well, transcripts, exhibits, and police reports. The file showed that a dubious file of the trial transcript in the Kenyan National Archives to be a forgery, but its discovery prompted the release of further files in Kenya. This momentous discovery not only sheds light on this key figure in Kenyan history, and the trauma and the Mau Mau rebellion, but also unstable nature of archives and historical memory. Dedan Kimathi on Trial: Colonial Justice and Popular Memory in Kenya’s Mau Mau Rebellion (Ohio University Press, 2017) not only reproduces the entire trial transcript, in all its original discordant glory, but a set of insightful essays by major scholars of Kenyan history and literary culture, including David Anderson, John Lonsdale, Nicholas Kariuki Githuku, Simon Gikandi, and Lotte Hughes. Her own introduction and a forward by Ngugi wa Thiong’o and Micere Githae Mugo provide a helpful framework for considering the meaning of this important artifact of Africa’s colonial interlude. For anyone in Kenya in February 2020, you can catch the launch of her book at the Dedan Kimathi University of Technology in Nyeri on February 18 and at the United States International Univeristy of Africa in Nairobi on February 21. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2015, University of Toronto professor Julie MacArthur decided to follow a couple more leads in the search for the long-missing, feared-lost transcript of the trial of legendary Mau Mau leader Dedan KImathi. She found herself amidst the papers of an anti-colonial London lawyer Ralph Millner who assisted the august barrister Dingle Foot in defending Kimathi before the Court of Appeals in colonial Kenya. There she found the full file of not only the appellate case, but the original trial as well, transcripts, exhibits, and police reports. The file showed that a dubious file of the trial transcript in the Kenyan National Archives to be a forgery, but its discovery prompted the release of further files in Kenya. This momentous discovery not only sheds light on this key figure in Kenyan history, and the trauma and the Mau Mau rebellion, but also unstable nature of archives and historical memory. Dedan Kimathi on Trial: Colonial Justice and Popular Memory in Kenya’s Mau Mau Rebellion (Ohio University Press, 2017) not only reproduces the entire trial transcript, in all its original discordant glory, but a set of insightful essays by major scholars of Kenyan history and literary culture, including David Anderson, John Lonsdale, Nicholas Kariuki Githuku, Simon Gikandi, and Lotte Hughes. Her own introduction and a forward by Ngugi wa Thiong’o and Micere Githae Mugo provide a helpful framework for considering the meaning of this important artifact of Africa’s colonial interlude. For anyone in Kenya in February 2020, you can catch the launch of her book at the Dedan Kimathi University of Technology in Nyeri on February 18 and at the United States International Univeristy of Africa in Nairobi on February 21. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2015, University of Toronto professor Julie MacArthur decided to follow a couple more leads in the search for the long-missing, feared-lost transcript of the trial of legendary Mau Mau leader Dedan KImathi. She found herself amidst the papers of an anti-colonial London lawyer Ralph Millner who assisted the august barrister Dingle Foot in defending Kimathi before the Court of Appeals in colonial Kenya. There she found the full file of not only the appellate case, but the original trial as well, transcripts, exhibits, and police reports. The file showed that a dubious file of the trial transcript in the Kenyan National Archives to be a forgery, but its discovery prompted the release of further files in Kenya. This momentous discovery not only sheds light on this key figure in Kenyan history, and the trauma and the Mau Mau rebellion, but also unstable nature of archives and historical memory. Dedan Kimathi on Trial: Colonial Justice and Popular Memory in Kenya’s Mau Mau Rebellion (Ohio University Press, 2017) not only reproduces the entire trial transcript, in all its original discordant glory, but a set of insightful essays by major scholars of Kenyan history and literary culture, including David Anderson, John Lonsdale, Nicholas Kariuki Githuku, Simon Gikandi, and Lotte Hughes. Her own introduction and a forward by Ngugi wa Thiong’o and Micere Githae Mugo provide a helpful framework for considering the meaning of this important artifact of Africa’s colonial interlude. For anyone in Kenya in February 2020, you can catch the launch of her book at the Dedan Kimathi University of Technology in Nyeri on February 18 and at the United States International Univeristy of Africa in Nairobi on February 21. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2015, University of Toronto professor Julie MacArthur decided to follow a couple more leads in the search for the long-missing, feared-lost transcript of the trial of legendary Mau Mau leader Dedan KImathi. She found herself amidst the papers of an anti-colonial London lawyer Ralph Millner who assisted the august barrister Dingle Foot in defending Kimathi before the Court of Appeals in colonial Kenya. There she found the full file of not only the appellate case, but the original trial as well, transcripts, exhibits, and police reports. The file showed that a dubious file of the trial transcript in the Kenyan National Archives to be a forgery, but its discovery prompted the release of further files in Kenya. This momentous discovery not only sheds light on this key figure in Kenyan history, and the trauma and the Mau Mau rebellion, but also unstable nature of archives and historical memory. Dedan Kimathi on Trial: Colonial Justice and Popular Memory in Kenya’s Mau Mau Rebellion (Ohio University Press, 2017) not only reproduces the entire trial transcript, in all its original discordant glory, but a set of insightful essays by major scholars of Kenyan history and literary culture, including David Anderson, John Lonsdale, Nicholas Kariuki Githuku, Simon Gikandi, and Lotte Hughes. Her own introduction and a forward by Ngugi wa Thiong’o and Micere Githae Mugo provide a helpful framework for considering the meaning of this important artifact of Africa’s colonial interlude. For anyone in Kenya in February 2020, you can catch the launch of her book at the Dedan Kimathi University of Technology in Nyeri on February 18 and at the United States International Univeristy of Africa in Nairobi on February 21. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2015, University of Toronto professor Julie MacArthur decided to follow a couple more leads in the search for the long-missing, feared-lost transcript of the trial of legendary Mau Mau leader Dedan KImathi. She found herself amidst the papers of an anti-colonial London lawyer Ralph Millner who assisted the august barrister Dingle Foot in defending Kimathi before the Court of Appeals in colonial Kenya. There she found the full file of not only the appellate case, but the original trial as well, transcripts, exhibits, and police reports. The file showed that a dubious file of the trial transcript in the Kenyan National Archives to be a forgery, but its discovery prompted the release of further files in Kenya. This momentous discovery not only sheds light on this key figure in Kenyan history, and the trauma and the Mau Mau rebellion, but also unstable nature of archives and historical memory. Dedan Kimathi on Trial: Colonial Justice and Popular Memory in Kenya’s Mau Mau Rebellion (Ohio University Press, 2017) not only reproduces the entire trial transcript, in all its original discordant glory, but a set of insightful essays by major scholars of Kenyan history and literary culture, including David Anderson, John Lonsdale, Nicholas Kariuki Githuku, Simon Gikandi, and Lotte Hughes. Her own introduction and a forward by Ngugi wa Thiong’o and Micere Githae Mugo provide a helpful framework for considering the meaning of this important artifact of Africa’s colonial interlude. For anyone in Kenya in February 2020, you can catch the launch of her book at the Dedan Kimathi University of Technology in Nyeri on February 18 and at the United States International Univeristy of Africa in Nairobi on February 21. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this day in 1956, Mau Mau leader Dedan Kimathi was captured, signaling the effective end of the Mau Mau Uprising.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers

Destination: Africa On today’s episode of the VIEW to the U podcast we are talking mapping borders and territories and its impact on identities in Africa in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with Professor Julie MacArthur, an Assistant Professor in UofT Mississauga's Department of Historical Studies and cross appointed in the Department of History in the Faculty of Arts & Science on the U of T St. George campus. She is also a Fellow with the Jackman Humanities Institute at UofT. We cover a range of other topics that relate to Julie's work, such as aesthetic education and African cinema, as well as a special event she is participating in with Masai Ujiri, president of the Toronto Raptors, in relation to Black History Month as it draws to a close for 2019. With this new, third season of the VIEW to the U highlighting UTM’s Global Perspectives, Julie will discuss her research, which focuses on the role of geographic borders and local practices of space, representation and memory shaping constructions of community, power, and dissent in modern Africa. In her research she has investigated electoral politics, linguistic history, and the making of political communities. Her first book, Cartography and the Political Imagination in Colonial Kenya, published in 2016, explores mapping and dissenting politics in Kenya. In 2017, she edited and served as primary author on the book Dedan Kimathi on Trial: Colonial Justice and Popular Memory in Kenya’s Mau Mau Rebellion. Her new research project, “Radical Cartographies,” investigates the alternative mappings of decolonization, sovereignty, and citizenship across eastern Africa from 1950-1976. In addition, her work in African representation extends to the field of African cinema, where Julie has worked as both a curator and an academic. Her project, “African Cinema and the Historical Imagination,” explores the ways in which Africans tell their stories through the technology of film. She has also worked as a programming associate with the Toronto International Film Festival and Film Africa in London, as well as serving as the Director of the Cambridge African Film Festival for several years. Julie regularly curates film programmes and participates in film forums and festivals around the world. A full transcript of the podcast interview is available: https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/vp-research/sites/files/vp-research/public/shared/Julie%20MacArthur-transcribed%2CFeb2019.pdf.

The ability to make language—words extend from the page…to become alive… to dance in the mind of a reader…creating vivid pictures that map time and space…weaving multiple experiences into a common tapestry of human history is an ability that only a few writers possess. It would not be a stretch to place such writers in the deep tradition passed down by generations of ancient priest, mystics, thinkers, storytellers, teachers who are often referred to as oracles. Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o fits seamlessly in the long line of historical oracles who possess foresight and insight in the continuities that crisscross our human past, present, and future. Every group of people have these oracles, but to hear them…to see them is an art. We have lost the patience and humility to listen to them. These vessels of ancestors, conveyors of deep thought…channelers of truths…that provide guidance for our deep praxis of humanity. Ngũgĩ, as he is known, comes from an oral tradition of storytellers. A novelist, playwright, and essayist who sits alongside the likes of Nigeria's Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka in the modern African pantheon, he is a recurrent favorite for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Ngũgĩ's life encompasses British colonialism and the anticolonial struggle for Kenyan independence; the tragedy of despotism in a free Africa; and exile…all of which he effortlessly weaves into his work. According to a November 16, 2016 interview in the Financial Times with Ngũgĩ , the author recounts Ngũgĩ's reflection of winning a Nobel: “A Nobel would be validating but not essential.” Ngugi wa Thiong'o was born in 1938 a village north of Nairobi, one of 28 children. In the 1950s, his older brother, Good Wallace, joined the Mau Mau anticolonial resistance against the British occupation whose prison camps were described by the then-solicitor general as having been “distressingly reminiscent of conditions in Nazi Germany or Communist Russia”, according to previously secret documents released by the British Foreign Office in 2012.According to Ngũgĩ in the article: The British response to the rebellion was brutal and relentless. It even extended to weaponizing language itself” Further recalling this period, Ngũgĩ goes on in the article to say that it is was “the British who gave movement the name of Mau Mau— as if to say it was a meaningless movement”. Ngũgĩ reasons that “If they had said or called it the, ‘Land and Freedom Army', as [the fighters] called it themselves, then they would be articulating the aims of the movement, right?” Today, I invite you to listen to a recent reflection by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o and Dr. Micere Githae-Mugo…on their work…The Trail of Dedan Kimathi. The Trial of Dedan Kimathi, a collaboration between Ngũgĩ and Mi Sheree-Mugo, is a response to colonialist writings about the Land and Freedom Army (aka the Mau Mau movement), which traditionally depicted the movement and its leader, Dedan Kimathi, as mentally unbalanced and vicious. They choose to present a counter narrative to this image by highlighting how the movement and its leader was seen by many of the peasants and laborers of Kenya. In this reflection, they explore the politics of memory; the relationship between naming, forms of power, and resistance. Enjoy the program

Micere Githae Mugo (Syracuse, Emeritus) and Simon Gikandi (Princeton) discuss the making and aftermath of The Trial of Dedan Kimathi and, on the 40th anniversary of the play, reflect on the play’s historical and political significance in Kenya and beyond; its innovative elements; and researching, writing, and enacting the play with Ngugi wa Thiong’o and […]

Micere Githae Mugo (Syracuse, Emeritus) and Simon Gikandi (Princeton) discuss the making and aftermath of The Trial of Dedan Kimathi and, on the 40th anniversary of the play, reflect on the play’s historical and political significance in Kenya and beyond; its innovative elements; and researching, writing, and enacting the play with Ngugi wa Thiong’o and […]

During the 1950s in Kenya, rebels known as the Mau Mau were fighting a bitter battle against colonial rule. Thousands of rebels were taken captive and interned in camps. Many of the prisoners suffered beatings and torture at the hands of the British authorities. Louise Hidalgo has spoken to a former Mau Mau rebel, Gitu wa Kahengeri, about his internment and about the day the Mau Mau leader, Dedan Kimathi was caught. Photo:Gitu wa Kahangeri in Kenya in 2016. Credit: BBC

During the 1950s in Kenya, rebels known as the Mau Mau were fighting a bitter battle against colonial rule. Thousands of rebels were taken captive and interned in camps. Many of the prisoners suffered beatings and torture at the hands of the British authorities. Louise Hidalgo has spoken to a former Mau Mau rebel, Gitu wa Kahengeri, about his internment and about the day the Mau Mau leader, Dedan Kimathi was caught.Photo:Gitu wa Kahangeri in Kenya in 2016. Credit: BBC

It is 55 years since the Mau Mau leader Dedan Kimathi was arrested in Kenya. He had been fighting against white rule in the British colony. Photo: Mau Mau suspects in a prison camp. Getty images