Never again had the fate of so many depended on the whims of one woman, when village idlers quaked at the mention of her name and able-bodied men avoided meeting her like the plague. Then, the most threatened species were the tax evaders who had to contend with the brutal power of her forces, as they were drugged whipped and incarcerated in solitary confinement.
Their humiliation was total. Every other day when the high and the mighty came calling, they rode on the backs of the able-bodied tax evaders, as the hoi polloi cheered. Along the way, the villagers dotted the pathway with calabashes of yams, sweet potatoes and arrowroots, proffered to a multitude of sidekicks for the consumption of the chief and her retinue, marching barefoot to her majesties service.
 |
| A Portrait of Wangu pasted inside the office she Occupied. Photo: Amos Kareithi/ Standard |
The uncompromising administrator forced the drunk Muraya to kneel before the congregation of villagers and sat on his back as she addressed a public meeting.
Her downfall when it came was spectacular and sent shockwaves in the entire district. Records are not clear on the exact date that Wangu fell from glory, but Wanyoike writes of a meeting between June 2 and 4 1909, that sealed her fate and forced her to bow out.
Before the meeting, Wangu had committed the ultimate insult against tradition and her colonial office after she allegedly danced kibata, an exclusive adult male dance, naked. Various theories have been advanced explaining the circumstances that led to her dancing but all agree that she had challenged tradition when she joined the male warriors in a dance.
Some theorists claim that Karuri, an elder of repute with over 60 wives, disregarded etiquettes by joining the warriors who were engrossed in the dance prior to an important meeting.
Exposed nakedness
On seeing her hero and lover dancing with youth and vigour, Wangu threw caution to the wind, discarded some of her clothing and exposed her breasts as she provocatively danced clutching Karuri. Mwangi offers another explanation: “Before she joined the dancers, some men adjusted her ceremonial sword tied to the waist alongside her muthuru.
The sword cut the strings of her traditional skirt, which flopped to the ground as Wangu jumped ecstatically, exposing her nakedness”.
After the scandalous dance, Wangu became the subject of ridicule and during the meeting held in Koimbi between June 2 and 4 1909 was forced to resign, a move that Karuri accepted, ending her decade long reign of terror. In her place Ikai wa Gathimba was appointed and never again has a provincial administrator from Murang’a captured the imagination of an entire region like Wangu did.
One of her sons, Muchiri, became chief of Weithaga Location and the compound from where she asserted her colonial supremacy became a bastion of hope for 50 orphans for the last 34 years, when Murang’a County Council established a children’s home.
[email protected]
The Standard Group Plc is a
multi-media organization with investments in media platforms spanning newspaper
print operations, television, radio broadcasting, digital and online services. The
Standard Group is recognized as a leading multi-media house in Kenya with a key
influence in matters of national and international interest.
join