Michael Mundia Kamau P.O. Box 17510 00500 Enterprise Road Nairobi 23rd January 2002
Dear Sir This letter is written in deepest appreciation for the three part instalment on General Stanley Mathenge Mirugi and the discovery that he is still alive in Ethiopia. The East African Standard and Joseph Karimi have unravelled a mystery and done this country a service beyond even their comprehension and ours.
The discovery of General Mathenge is both joyous and sorrowful. On the one hand it is extremely gratifying to know that a great son of this country is still alive and well, and on the other, it is a stark reflection of how utterly callous, misguided and ungrateful a society we are.
General Mathenge's discovery will certainly spur a great deal of public debate and hopefully reflection. These are greatly troubling times for this country whose roots are are in the injustices and wrongs perpetrated against the likes of General Stanley Mathenge Mirugi.
So much media attention is being paid to initiatives like the constitutional review process forgetting that had it not been for the sacrifices of the likes of General Mathenge, there would have been no constitution to review in the first place. It is time to spare a thought for the past without which there is no future The prognosis on Mau Mau is incomplete and different schools of thought view Mau Mau diffrently. The leadership struggle in Mau Mau itself is also unclear.
The East African Standard account has it that General Mathenge deputised Field Marshall Dedan Kimathi while another has it that General Mathenge was toppled as the head of Mau Mau by a more radical leaning faction of Mau Mau led by Field Marshall Dedan Kimathi. However, the fact that the British decalared a state of emergency in 1952 is a pointer to the impact of Mau Mau. The fact that the British brought in the UK based Lancashire Fusiliers, is a pointer to the effect of Mau Mau. The fact that the British carried out massive and expensive bombing sprees over the Aberdares, is a pointer to the force of Mau Mau.
The British intended to grant indepedence to Kenya in 1973, and probably even later. It is not unimaginary that we could have been granted independence at the same time as Zimbabwe in 1980, or even South Africa in 1994, given the docile, accomodating nature of Kenyans. The impact of Mau Mau was however swift and unexpected and forced the British to review their stand regarding Kenya. Whatever extended colonial plans that may have been had were cut short and replaced with neo-colonial ones.
When we go about our daily business, we must bear this in mind. When we pride ourselves in the breakthroughs we have made as a Nation, we must bear this in mind. Many of us have gone to school and are able to fit in and adopt in many places in this world. We must pay homage and thanks to those who made this possible. The rot has sunk to unthinkable levels such that no mention or inclusion of General Mathenge is made in Mau Mau suits for compensation against the British government, yet he has been alive all these years. No one can escape blame for the callous manner in which we have downplayed Mau Mau and the heroic freedom struggle.
On December 12th 1963 itself, Prime Minister Jomo Kenyatta in the company of the Duke of Edinburgh, snubbed Mau Mau fighters who walked towards him to exchange greetings. No effort whatsoever has been made to recognise the movement and it's contribution to the freedom struggle in this country. Nothing personifies this more than the fact that General Mathenge and others have been kept quietly next door to this country all these years. Nothing personifies this more than the fact that Field Marshall Dedan Kimathi's remains are still buried at Kamiti maximum prison. What kind of a people disowns it's past ?
One can safely conclude that one of the pre-conditions for independence was the systematic erasing of Mau Mau and all it stood for General Mathenge's discovery and his response clearly manifests the noble ideals that Mau Mau stood for. No wonder Mau Mau has been trampled on so, because their ideals have no place in present day Kenya. One definitely reads embitterment in General Mathenge's detached manner, embitterment with a society that they sacrificed so much for, and that has turned it's back on them. One also notes a very refined sense of ideals and principle. We have not once heard General Mathenge raise issue or cry foul all these years. He has gracefully accepted that they were betrayed and opted for quiet retirement. He is not like so many Kenyan politicians who are demanding rewards for their role in the so called second liberation.
Mau Mau stood for something which was fullfilled, though not quite in the anticipated way. General Mathenge should be allowed to live in quiet retirement in his new found life and beloved family. Plans to bring him back home are premature and misguided. General Mathenge is a wounded man who may never heal. All of us have betrayed him and must pay the price. Any attempt to get the truth out of him must be approached with utmost caution without unsettling the delicate balance of his life and family. He can only be requested to talk willingly and only willingly, beyond which a hasty retreat must be made. General Mathenge is an old man incapable of supporting undue stress and strain. We appear to have murdered a freedom movement and must not extend this to a gracious old man Michael Mundia Kamau