Echoes of liberation: Dedan Kimathi's story in a musical

At the foot of a snowcapped majestic Mt Kenya, towering trees, grasslands and shadowy caves deep inside a dense forest, a powerful tale of resistance unfolds on stage.

With the sacred mountain towering over the stage, tall rugged trees and caves hidden deep inside the untamed forest give an air of secrecy representing the hideouts and meeting places for Mau Mau fighters. The natural setting captures the blend of peaceful beauty of the land and the brutal fight and rawness of war that raged upon it.

This is where freedom fighters led by Dedan Kimathi sought refuge.

A display of colored lights brings every element of the set into vivid focus; from the sacred mountain referred to as Kirinyaga to the dark caves. The careful selection of stirring music pulls the audience into the visual and emotional depths of Kenya’s fight for independence.

Welcome to Woodcreek School Theatre, Kiambu, where students bring to life on stage the historic struggle for liberation in a powerful musical play.

The musical play titled Dedan Kimathi is being staged this weekend, and will be replayed on November 2 and 3. It invites the audience to relive the powerful journey to liberation.

The character of Dedan Kimathi is played by Namiri Chiroma.

The play’s director Lewis Kavoi Xavier talks about the importance of telling African stories, particularly Kenyan narratives.

 “At a moment in life when we are trying to teach our students to be responsible, to have integrity, to be resilient, and to stand up for what is right, we figured that Dedan would be the perfect approach to instill these values in them,” Xavier says.

The narrative not only renders a military figure leading a rebellion against colonial rule but also portrays him first as a young boy, witnessing the gradual encroachment of settlers onto his family’s land.

The story, which follows a non-linear plot, unfolds in Aberdare forest where Kimathi is seen with fellow field marshals including General China.

Before starting the movement, Kimathi is seen in the classrooms as a volunteer teacher in a missionary school as a way of giving back to his community.

Before trading the chalk for machete, he attends a Barraza meeting that is held somewhere in Ol Kalau held by the settlers who inform them that their ancestral land is now the Queen’s land and that they are not being productive enough.

“The whites tell them that they have brought in wisdom and knowledge on how to till the land and this is where now Dedan decides, he can’t do it anymore,” he explains.

“The set is at the slopes of Kirinyaga because the mountain is significance in our story. That’s where the largest group of the Maumau started erupting from. The mountain also represents the pride of Kenya,” says xavier.

Before he goes to the forest, his friend General China, comes back from fighting the wars in Burma.  He joins Kimathi’s quest to fight for land fueling Kimathi’s spirit to put together a team of field marshals and the generals.

Eventually we see Kimathi arrested by Henderson’s home guards who trailed him and shot him on his hip.

The casts flawlessly bring out Kimathi’s internal struggles with the betrayal of those he once called allies taking an emotional toll on him.

zhile many narratives of colonial resistance often paint figures like Dedan Kimathi as mere symbols of rebellion, the musical play seeks to unveil the deeper, more humane side of the leader of the Mau Mau movement.

Xavier says the musical shifts focus from the typical revolutionary warrior to the essence of the man himself bringing out his personal struggles, dreams, and the internal conflicts that shaped his journey towards freedom.

The play aims to present a picture of Kimathi that captures both his bravery and vulnerabilities.

“One thing, I didn’t know anything about was Dedan Kimathi. Before this play, I only knew his name, Dedan Kimathi Street. I wanted to immerse myself fully into this character, so I just went on a spiral to do as much research as possible,” says Chiroma.

Watching Mau Mau Chronicles, reaching out to friends whose folks knew Kimathi, reading materials written on Kimathi helped him internalise the character and flawlessly brings out the two sides of Kimathi on stage- the leader and a man who battled internal conflicts.

Neema Liz Wangui, who is playing Kimathi’s wife Mukami Kimathi, says the role has made her appreciate the participation of women in the struggle for independence.

“She was a strong woman and she had to be. She had to be resilient to always be there for them and also to be able to accept that her husband is leaving her to go fight for a bigger cause and still love him,” she says.

Her most captivating scene is when she meets her husband in prison before he’s hung.

“Every time I think about that scene I just think about Mukami and Kimathi. It makes me wonder that someone actually went through all that,” she wonders.

She recalls how Mukami went to see him the following day and found him dead.

According to Jairo Obege, the play’s producer says the school emphasizes on the importance of exposing students to high-level work.

Obege says the Dedan Kimathi production bridges the gap between theory and practical the learners a real word implications of what they learn in the classroom.