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History–Tours
19521952–1963 · Nairobi

The Mau Mau uprising and Kenyan independence

The bronze statue of Mau Mau leader Dedan Kimathi on its plinth on Kimathi Street, Nairobi
Photo: K.Gituma. CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Fighters of the Kenya Land and Freedom Army, known as Mau Mau and drawn mainly from the Kikuyu, took up arms against British settler rule in 1952. The colonial government declared an emergency, held tens of thousands of Kenyans in detention camps where many were tortured, and hanged the forest leader Dedan Kimathi in 1957. Kenya became independent in December 1963, with Jomo Kenyatta as prime minister.

Sites

  1. Site 1: Dedan Kimathi statue, Kimathi StreetBronze statue of the Mau Mau leader with rifle and dagger, unveiled in 2007.Map ↗
  2. Site 2: Mau Mau memorial, Uhuru ParkMemorial to Kenyans tortured and killed during the Emergency, paid for by the British government in 2015.Map ↗
  3. Site 3: Uhuru GardensPark and museum where the Kenyan flag was first raised at independence.Map ↗

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