Group wants Aberdares renamed to honour Mau Mau heroes

A billowing smoke is seen from a distance at Aberdare forest on March 26, 2012. A group comprising the sons and daughters of Mau Mau fighters in Kenya’s struggle for independence want the Aberdare Range and some roads renamed after the freedom fighters. Photo|JOSEPH KANYI

What you need to know:

  • The group wants the Aberdare Range be named after Field Marshal Dedan Kimathi, as this would remind successive generations of the hero who fought for Kenya’s independence.
  • The Mau Mau group was speaking during the burial of one of their members, a daughter of the late former Mau Mau freedom fighter general Gathogo Muthura at Mukarara village in Tetu Sub-County, Nyeri.

A group comprising the sons and daughters of Mau Mau fighters in Kenya’s struggle for independence want the Aberdare Range and some roads renamed after the freedom fighters.

Members of the Mau Mau Foundation group, in their petition to the government, said their parents have never been honoured appropriately despite their great contribution to the independence struggle.

The group wants the Aberdare Range be named after Field Marshal Dedan Kimathi, as this would remind successive generations of the hero who fought for Kenya’s independence.

Through their chairman Michael King’ori, the group said some of the roads they have identified include Nyeri-Nyahururu road which should be named after former Mau Mau War Veterans Association patron, the late Ndungu Wa Gicheru, and the Nairobi-Nakuru highway at the Njabiini Fly-Over to be named after Dedan Kimathi’s wife Ms Mukami Kimathi.

“We want the Jubilee government to name some of these roads after our heroes and this should even apply to the Aberdare Range after our parents. We need to remember those who sacrificed their lives for the country to attain the freedom we have been enjoying for the last 51 years,” said Mr King’ori.

The Aberdare Range, the third highest mountain range in Kenya after Mount Kenya and Mount Elgon, is named after Lord Aberdare, a European who was one of the founder members of the Royal Geographical Society.

The Mau Mau group was speaking during the burial of one of their members, a daughter of the late former Mau Mau freedom fighter general Gathogo Muthura at Mukarara village in Tetu Sub-County, Nyeri.

“As a group, we are making these proposals to those in authority, and if they think that our ideas cannot work, then they are welcome to suggest other better alternatives,” said Mr King’ori.

HEROES WELFARE

In April, President Uhuru Kenyatta assented to the Heroes Bill 2014, which creates a council to manage the welfare of heroes.

The Heroes Act provides for the recognition of heroes and establishes criteria for the identification, selection and honouring of national heroes.

The Act also provides for the categories of heroes and the establishment of the National Heroes Council.

The group said they have noted that most of the benefits supposed to be accrued to former freedom fighters have been falling into wrong hands, demanding that this must come to an end.

The group’s chairman said they live a life of self-denial as to why their parents participated in the country’s freedom struggle since they have been shunned even by the local communities.