NAIROBI, Kenya May 13-The funeral of Mukami, the widow of reverred Mau Mau fighter Dedan Kimathi, was underway Saturday, attended by President William Ruto among other top dignitaries.
The funeral at Kimathi home in Njabini, Nyandarua was attended thousands, including Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
Opposition Chief Raila Odinga is also expected, the first time the two leaders will share a podium since the August 2022 elections.
Mukami died on May 11 at the Nairobi Hospital aged 101.
Other leaders at the burial include Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi among other top government officials.
In his condolences, President Ruto said Mama Mukami was part of the history of Kenya’s freedom.
“Mama Mukami Kimathi courageously withstood the brutality of colonial oppression, proudly wore the scars of battle, and bore the terrible losses of war with admirable fortitude.”
The President praised her resilience even after her husband was executed by the colonial administration.
Until her death, Mukami has been advocating for the exhumation of the remains of her husband from Kamiti Maximum Prison to be buried at his home.
Dedan headed the feared Mau Mau rebellion and was executed half a century ago by the colonial authorities, prompting her later to appeal to the Kenyan government to exhume his body so he could be given a state funeral.
But successive governments tried and failed to locate his remains.
Official government records show that Kimathi was captured by the colonial administration in 1956 at Kahigaini in the Aberdare ranges and executed in 1957 in Kamiti Prison.
“I do not want to die before being shown the exact place where my husband was buried. I want to see the remains of my Kimathi before I go. I do not have long to live and this matter has been a thorn in my flesh,” Mukami said in a recent media interview.
