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Pain, nostalgia as mothers of 1992 political prisoners recount ordeal

Mothers stripped naked and dared the police to kill them. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Conditional petition

Mothers of political prisoners, aged between 60 and 80 years, presented a conditional petition to the State with a list of 52 young Kenyans who had been detained by the government.

When other Kenyans joined the mothers in the protests, police forces beat them with batons, fired gunshots into the air, and hurled teargas in the tent where the protesters had gathered.

To ward off the police, two of the protesting mothers, including Ruth Wangari Thungu, stripped naked and dared the police to kill them.

The image of the two mothers was among those displayed in the illustration gallery during the commemoration event. It is captioned, "Cultural curse used by the women to protect the young people from being shot by police".

Njeri Kabeberi, one of the young people who had joined the women in protest, said the police responded by turning away and leaving the scene.

In the words of Prof Maathai, the tactic of disrobing was particularly effective in stopping the police.

"In the African tradition, people must respect women who are close to their mother's age, and they must treat them as their mothers. If men beat mothers, it is like sons violating their mothers, and the mothers respond by cursing them. And they cursed them by showing them their nakedness," she was quoted.

Kanene wa Karari, who joined other guests at the event, was among the young men who rallied at Uhuru Park to support the mothers. A picture of him being confronted by an armed police officer was among those displayed at the gallery.

Karimi Nduthu was later killed in 1996 by unknown people. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Others included Leah Wanjiru Mungai, mother of Kang'ethe Mungai, who had been sentenced to 20 years for distributing Mwakenya leaflets; Gladys Thiitu Kariuki, mother of late Nakuru Town MP Mirugi Kariuki; and Beldina Ojwang Adhiambo, the mother of Apiny Adhiambo, who was the last of the 52 political prisoners to be released, marking the end of hunger strike in January 1993.

Although the release of the prisoners in 1993 was the epitome of the struggle for mothers, Wambui said Kenya is yet to get complete freedom and democracy.

"We are not free yet. What we have achieved is the freedom of expression unlike those years when criticising the government meant torture and death," she said.

Even though history celebrates the mothers' heroic action that arguably ended the streak of political prisoners, activists feel the culture of impunity is still embedded in the current government.

"We are still facing a lot of economic, social and political injustices in the country, extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. The high cost of living is also part of the entrenched impunity," said Davis Malombe, KHRC Executive Director.