Dedan Kimathi on Trial

Colonial Justice and Popular Memory in Kenya's Mau Mau Rebellion

Julie MacArthur, Julie MacArthur

• Publisher: Ohio University Press
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9780896805019
• Topic: Historia
• Subtopic: Historia africana

The transcript from this historic trial, long thought destroyed or hidden, unearths a piece of the British colonial archive at a critical point in the Mau Mau Rebellion. Its discovery and landmark publication unsettles an already contentious Kenyan history and its reverberations in the postcolonial present.

Perhaps no figure embodied the ambiguities, colonial fears, and collective imaginations of Kenya's decolonization era more than Dedan Kimathi, the self-proclaimed field marshal of the rebel forces that took to the forests to fight colonial rule in the 1950s. Kimathi personified many of the contradictions that the Mau Mau Rebellion represented: rebel statesman, literate peasant, modern traditionalist. His capture and trial in 1956, and subsequent execution, for many marked the end of the rebellion and turned Kimathi into a patriotic martyr.

Here, the entire trial transcript is available for the first time. This critical edition also includes provocative contributions from leading Mau Mau scholars reflecting on the meaning of the rich documents offered here and the figure of Kimathi in a much wider field of historical and contemporary concerns. These include the nature of colonial justice; the moral arguments over rebellion, nationalism, and the end of empire; and the complexities of memory and memorialization in contemporary Kenya.

Contributors: David Anderson, Simon Gikandi, Nicholas Githuku, Lotte Hughes, and John Lonsdale. Introductory note by Willy Mutunga.

Primary Documents

Note on Primary Sources

All of the primary sources presented in this volume have been reproduced with minimal editing in an effort to preserve the original presentation, integrity, and sense of the documents. Minor and minimal orthographical corrections have been made for the sake of clarity and consistency.

Annotations are provided throughout to offer further context or clarification. Specific technical or foreign terms are explained in the first instance that they appear. For the sake of clarity, (…) parentheses are used when original to the text, […] square brackets are used to signify corrections/notations original to the source material, and {…} curly brackets indicate any editorial corrections or notations.

Full copies of the original documents presented here have been deposited both at the archives of the Supreme Court of Kenya and at the Kenya National Archives.

Document 1

TRIAL OF DEDAN KIMATHI

IN HER MAJESTY’S SUPREME COURT OF KENYA AT NYERI. EMERGENCY ASSIZE CRIMINAL CASE NO. 46 OF 1956¹

REGINA …………………………………………………Prosecutrix.²

versus

DEDAN KIMATHI s/o {son of} WACHIURI………….…Accused.

______________________________

19/11/56

10.20 a.m. – Accused Present.

Accused arraigned.

COUNT 1.³

*Plea: I had it in my possession. The reason I had this arm with me was because I was coming out to surrender. I did not leave it behind me. Government instructions were that anyone who intended to surrender should not leave his arms behind.

Plea of Not Guilty recorded.

*COUNT 2.⁴

Plea: I had the ammunition in my possession. Similarly as I stated in the other count I did not want to leave them behind as I was following Government’s instructions to come out with all I had.

Plea of Not Guilty recorded.

*NOTE.

The whole of the pleas have been included in the record and not only “NOT GUILTY” because it may be of assistance to the accused to show that he has been consistent in his defence throughout.

Assessors brought in.⁵ Chosen: 1. Tumuti s/o Gakere.

2. Nderitu s/o Muteru.

3. Kibuthu s/o Kihia.

No objection by Defence.

Conroy.⁶ with him Havers for the Crown.⁷

Miller for the accused.⁸

Conroy opens: 2 offences. Details them. 1st more serious.

If guilty of 1st, also guilty of 2nd. Burden on Crown. Crown must prove that on 21/10/56 Dedan Kimathi was in unlawful possession of a firearm. (1) That he possessed it; (2) That it was a firearm. If Crown proves possession it is for him to satisfy you that he had a lawful excuse to possess it. If after you have heard all the evidence you are not satisfied that he possessed it with lawful authority or lawful excuse, guilty. Plan marked for identification Ex. 1.⁹ (Defence counsel - no objection. Copies given to assessors). Explains plan.

Saturday, 20/10/56.

Ambushes of T.P’s {Tribal Police}¹⁰ were put on this ditch. Party of about 24 men under the command of T.P. Corporal Wanjohi - a platoon: there was a smaller party – section – under Sjt. Mwangi, a T.P.R. {Tribal Police Reservist} Sjt.: Cpl. Wanjohi was a Regular Corporal. Corporal posted his men on the reserve side of the ditch, 2 men at one end, 2 in the middle, 2 under Sjt. Mwangi, at the far end. Quiet night. Buffalo. Nothing else. Just as it was beginning to get light on the Sunday morning 21/10, 2 men on the right were moving when they thought that they saw someone coming [in or] at the edge of the ditch – names Ndirangu s/o Mau and Njogi. Ndirangu shouted to what he thought was a man to stop. He appeared to be coming into the forest. He did not stop but started running down the ditch. He appeared to have something on his shoulder which appeared to be sugar cane. Ndirangu fired. Man tried to climb bank into the forest. Bank too high. He could not get up. Ran across ditch into Reserve.¹¹ Ndirangu fired again. Man got up on top of the bank and Ndirangu fired 3rd time and man fell over and disappeared in the bush. Njogi (for fear of hitting Ndirangu) fired into the air twice. Hearing noise, the other 4 men and Sjt. Mwangi came along to see what was happening. Mwangi s/o Kanguru and Maina also came up and joined Ndirangu and Njogi in searching the bush. [After a little they found a man hanging] over an overhanging bush. Thought at first that he was a leopard – dressed in leopard skin, coat and hat. Ndirangu saw it was a man and asked him who he was. He said Kimathi s/o Wachiuri – Dedan Kimathi. Told to come out; he said he could not. Told to creep out, he did and they saw that he was wounded in the thigh. One of the tribal policemen searched him and they saw a pistol in a holster with a strap over his shoulder. On left side a simi {small sword or double-edge knife}. Mwangi took the pistol from him. Shortly after Sjt. Mwangi arrived and was handed the pistol as he was in charge. Stretcher made and they took Dedan Kimathi away. Cpl. Wanjohi had arrived and the pistol was handed to him. He tore up his shirt and tied up wound. He was taken to the police station and the pistol was handed to a European police officer who will produce it. At no time was Dedan Kimathi ill-treated, nor did he at any time say that he was coming in to surrender or that he wished to surrender. That took place on 21.10. Doctor called and wound treated. On 22/10. senior police officer went to see Dedan Kimathi and charged him with two offences. He was asked whether he had anything to say and said (Defence – no objection): “I would like to say that I never knew there was such a law.” He then said he wanted to think and after a little interval said: “I have nothing more to say”.¹²

CHARGES.

(1) Unlawful possession of firearm.

(2) Unlawful possession of ammunition.

In reply to this he said “I would like to say that I never knew there was such a law”. If he really intended to surrender, he should have said so there and then.

Firearm.

If you think it has the appearance of a firearm, unless someone tells you to the contrary, it is a firearm. But I will also call evidence of two police officers. They first put one of their own police rounds in and fired and it split wood into halves. On S’day there had been 6 bullets in the pistol. When they were testing they put one of those in the pistol, fired and it went through the wood. You may think that that would fire a round which would kill anyone that it hit in a vital part. Evidence will be called. If you think (1) that Dedan Kimathi was in possession of this pistol, (2) that it could hurt or kill a person [then] unless he had a lawful authority or lawful excuse for possessing it, he is guilty on count 1. If you are satisfied of that and that there were 6 rounds in the pistol, you may think him guilty of the 2nd charge.

DERICK FREDERICK CREW. sworn states

Inspector Kenya Police, Kiganjo. Qualified draftsman. 16 years in drawing office – Served apprenticeship. Reached higher National Standard of drawing.

On 23/10/56, I left Nyeri with A.S.P. {Assistant Superintendent of Police} Vidler and Insp. {Inspector} Blackman and went to the Kahigaini Village, South Tetu. I prepared a plan of an area pointed out to me by A.S.P. Vidler. This is the plan. Line drawn along top is the ditch in relief. Tendered Ex. 1. No objection. Plan admitted. Ex. 1.

Cross-examined.

The relief plan is drawn to scale in order that the Court may have an idea of the distance. The plan at the foot is not to scale. Ditch runs alongside of valley. From lower side of the trench to bottom of valley is a drop of 50 ft. to 80 ft. estimated. Question explained.

Relief plan is only to scale from end to end – not in height. From where ditch joins road to bottom of valley might be 300 to 400 ft, but difference in altitude.

Q. If you are on that hillside below the ditch looking up you would be looking up rather sharply: it is a steep slope?

A. Yes. The distance from A to D is between 2,300 and 2,500 ft., i.e. about 800 [yds].

No re-examination.

To Court.

Ditch is reasonably flat-bottomed. Heights of bank marked on plan are approximately correct. I was shown where accused was supposed to have been found – was shown by Vidler and Blackman – I mark it with a cross.

No further questions.

K.K. O’Connor, C.J.

19/11/56.

NDIRANGU s/o MAU. affirmed.

I am a tribal police reserve constable stationed at Kahigaini, South Tetu Reserve. Have been tribal policeman for about 2 years. Before that Homeguard¹³ from the beginning – 1952. I remember 20/10/56 – Saturday. I was a member of a party of tribal police and tribal police reserve under Cpl. Wanjohi. He gave us certain instructions that night. I was in a party under Sjt. Mwangi – they were Njogi, Mwangi (not Sjt. Mwangi), Maina, Njeru, Wanjiri. I think that is all. 5 and myself and Sjt. Mwangi. We went to positions on the ditch which separates the reserve from the forest near Kahigaini Village. We reached ditch at 6.45. It was still light. Sjt. Mwangi put us in position along the ditch. He put me with another man – Njogi. To my right was another man from Sjt. Mwangi’s group. I was near the road which goes to Nyeri. Others were placed – I could not see them. I was with Njogi. Sjt. Mwangi posted the others along the ditch on the right side (demonstrates). I was on the reserve side.

Ex. 1. I see this and the ditch and the road, the reserve and the forest. I was placed at point F. (Indicated on plan). I was about 18 paces from the road. I don’t know where the others were posted. We stayed in our ambush all night – didn’t see anything. We didn’t move during the night. When it started...