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UK gives Dedan Kimathi trial, appeal files to Kenya

The file relates to the 1956 trial and conviction of the late freedom fighter in Nyeri where he had been charged with unlawful possession of a firearm/COURTESY

The file relates to the 1956 trial and conviction of the late freedom fighter in Nyeri where he had been charged with unlawful possession of a firearm/COURTESY

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 1 – A certified copy of the original Dedan Kimathi trial and appellate file from the United Kingdom are now in Kenya.

The file which is under the care of the Kenyan Judiciary was recovered from the Senate House Library of the University of London last week.

The file relates to the 1956 trial and conviction of the late freedom fighter in Nyeri where he had been charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and consequently sentenced to death and imprisonment with hard labour for the offences.

The Kimathi file will be among rare exhibits in the new Judicial Museum of Kenya which will open soon at the Supreme Court Building.

The museum will feature information and collections covering key historical events in the evolution of the Kenyan Judiciary.

Born Kimathi wa Waciuri, he was a leader of the Mau Mau which led an armed military struggle known as the Mau Mau uprising against the British colonial government in Kenya in the 1950s.

Despite being viewed with contempt by the Jomo Kenyatta regime and subsequent governments, Kimathi and his fellow Mau Mau rebels are now officially recognized as heroes in the struggle for Kenyan independence by the incumbent government.

His capture and execution in 1957 led to the eventual defeat of the uprising by the British colonial government.

He was buried in an unmarked grave, reportedly in Nairobi’s Kamiti Prison and his body is yet to be recovered to date.

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