Trade Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria has suggested that the body of Dedan Kimathi’s to be exhumed for a joint burial with his widow who died on Thursday night.
Mukami, the widow of the freedom fighter, died at the Nairobi Hospital aged 96.
While mourning Mukami, the Trade CS said the British government should assist Kenya in identifying exact place in Kamiti Prison where Kimathi’s remains were buried after execution.
“I believe firmly that it is still possible probably with the support of the British government to identify the exact place he was buried so that as we mourn Mukami, we should have Kimathi’s remains exhumed for a joint burial,” he said at the Lee Funeral Home.
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.
“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. And I do not have long to live and this matter has been a thorn in my flesh,” Mukami said in a recent media interview.
The search
The search for the remains of Kimathi started as far back as the 1980s when the family petitioned the State to help them locate it in what attracted global attention. and several stated including Argentina offered to help.
“I want to be shown my husband’s grave. I want to know where he where he was buried. No one knows where my Kimathi was buried except the British government and I want President William Ruto and King Charles to intervene in this matter,” Mukami told the media late last year.
Her sentiments were echoed by her older brother, Simon Maina Kimathi.
“Mama is a hardcore Mau Mau, she never gives up. And her only wish is to bury her husband. She has so much stress that is deteriorating her health,” said Maina.
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.
By Wanjiru Mbaru