Residents decorate Kimathi’s hometown on his birthday

Members of Kimathi Cultural group dance to a Kikuyu folk song on their way to Dedan Kimathi Stadium where they planted tree seedlings to celebrate the hero’s birthday in Nyeri town. [Photo: John Gathua/Standard]

By Marion Ndung’u

Nyeri residents on Wednesday celebrated the birthday of war hero Dedan Kimathi by planting trees at Dedan Kimathi Stadium.

Members of Kimathi Cultural Centre who adorned the streets of the town led the celebrations. Carrying a red, black and green flag, the group marched along Kimathi Street culminating in a tree planting exercise around the stadium.

Monument

They called on the Government to build a Kimathi monument in his hometown of Nyeri like the one in Nairobi.

Ndirangu Kagunu, leader of the group said they plan to grow the celebrations of Kimathi’s birthday to become a festival, which will commemorate the country’s heroes.

“We ask the Government to help us build a public arena at Kahigaini in which we can host artistes from all over the world and exchange ideas,” said Ndirangu.

Heroes

He said the celebrations began on October 30 with a vigil and ended the following evening.

The group sung and danced to traditional tunes attracting a crowd.

David Ngige of the Nyeri County social watch said the celebrations were a way of recognising the county’s heroes.