FULL INTERVIEW WITH FIELD MARSHAL MUTHONI KIRIMA - HD

• FULL INTERVIEW WITH FI... In this extended interview, the late Field Marshal Muthoni wa Kirima narrates how she was beaten senseless for spying for Dedan Kimathi's army, and was hence compelled to leave her home and join the fighters in the forest. As a fighter, Muthoni was remarkable for her sacrifice and commitment; she remained in the forest for 10 good years and emerged only after independence. Her emergence from the forest was witnessed by Mama Ngina Kenyatta at the historically signficant Ruring'u stadium in Nyeri. She was one of the heroes specially ferried to Uhuru Gardens to witness the independence ceremony where the British flag was lowered and the Kenyan flag raised as Prince Philip witnessed and as Jomo Kenyatta rubbed it in with his rousing victory speech. She knew both Kimathi and Stanley Mathenge, the protagonist generals in the movement. She says that Mathenge was involved in negotiations with white colonial settlers, which Kimathi vehemently opposed. At one time, she saved Mathenge from Kimathi's wrath. She then narrates how Mathenge fled from the forest and was headed to Ethiopia but may have drowned in the river or encountered death by other means. Life in the forest was hard; the fighters were hunted not just by the colonial forces but by wild animals as well. She narrates an incident when she was chased by a rogue buffalo and had to climb a tree to save her life. As colonial counter-insurgency measures intensified, the fighters subsisted on wild animals. She narrates this while chewing sugarcane, which reveals her remarkable authenticity. Her interview was interspersed with humour as she joked with Research Assistant Betty Maina, Evan Mbugua and Film Producer Kariuki Thige. May her soul rest in eternal peace. #Kenya #Africa #Uhuru #MuthoniKirima #Africanindependence.