Struggle for Land & Decent Living

Pre-Colonial Economic Activities

From the pre-colonial period, Africans were rooted in diversified economic activities ranging from trade, pastoralism, and agriculture.

The Arrival of the British and Land Displacement

The coming of the British to Kenya was the beginning of life-long problems arising from the displacement of many Kenyans from their ancestral lands to pave the way for the colonizers to utilize land that was good for agriculture and livestock rearing. Many Kenyans found themselves in concentration camps from which the whites forced them to work on their lands for very low wages, not being allowed to own land or livestock as well. This, among other injustices meted out on the natives, increased their agitation to fight for their seized properties and dignity in the eyes of the brutal colonialists who treated Kenyans as inferior humans.

The Freedom Struggle and Sacrifices of the 1950s

The freedom struggle history of the 1950s in Kenya is a pool of excruciating pain, unbearable losses, and extreme insult to humanity as the survivors narrate their bitter experiences for daring to stand for their rights in their own country. Among the freedom fighters sustained bullet wounds, some still have bullets lodged in their bodies, while others were totally immobilized. Some fighters, such as Field Marshal Dedan Kimathi, who led the Mau Mau anti-colonial resistance militia and after whom this Foundation is named, paid the ultimate price for Kenyan independence through execution by the British in 1957.

Betrayal After Independence

Upon the attainment of Kenyan independence in the year 1963, Kenyans celebrated the new free status. However, it was different for the forest fighters whose efforts had paid off as they got out of the forests to find their land sold out to the British sympathizers/collaborators locally known as the home guards, as the British packed and fled back to their homes. Their family members were scattered, while a few were still in the concentration camps. Forest fighters had to join the few members in the camps as the war was over, but the government that took over showed no interest in resettling them.

The Continuous Struggle for Land

Every passing year washed a layer of hope from the war veterans as the promises made to them by the Kenyan government were barely honored. They remained landless, a challenge that escalated with their families’ expansion in the small spaces within the concentration camps.

The Role of Dedan Kimathi Foundation

It was in the year 2017 when the Mau Mau War Veterans joined together under Dedan Kimathi Foundation to seek a working plan to acquire land no matter the cost. Believing in the power of unity of purpose, they started contributing towards a settlement plan in Rumuruti in Laikipia County, a pastoralism region where land is a bit affordable as it is hot and dry, hence reduced demand. In her vision, the foundation patron, the late Shujaa Mukami Kimathi (Wife of the slain F. M. Dedan Kimathi and a forest fighter), predicted a possible help channel from the Kenyan government and compensation of the war veterans by the British, which never became.

Land Purchase and Settling the Veterans

With undying zeal, Dedan Kimathi Foundation members, among whom the most are peasant ex-fighters and their families, continued contributing their money to own land. As the foundation continued to look for more funds to boost their contributions, their contributions have already been utilized by buying land and settling a number of very needy members, some of whom could not afford a place to be buried.

Ongoing Challenges and the Need for Support

Settling the members is a continuous process challenged by a lack of sufficient resources to purchase more land for the aging freedom fighters and their families.