13/08/2020
The following morning we set off for the Location 2 mbuci. When asked to go with us, General Mathenge said he had a journey to Nyeri which he could not postpone. Thus we went with Field Marshal Dedan Kimathi, General Gitau Matenjagwo, Major-General Mbaria wa Kaniu, Brigadier Njatu wa Gakure, Colonel Ndungu wa Giceru and Sergeant Kago. All in all we were three hundred well armed soldiers.
Our journey to the Location 2 mbuci was without incident. We arrived at about three o'clock and as soon as we arrived, runners were sent to the Location 1 mbuci to inform the mbuci commander, Sergeant Muiruri wa Muhuha, that a group of leaders and men would be arriving with the aim of launching an attack on Ndaka-ini. He was to send runners to Kikuyuini to inform the local leader that large numbers of axes and files would be required without disclosing the purpose for which they were needed. The files were for sharpening the axes and the axes were for felling trees across the roads when the time for attack came.
We rested for one day and on the following day, fighters were sent out to go and fell trees across the roads, to cover them with boulders and to blow up bridges. They were to go and lie in wait until seven the following morning when they would begin blowing up bridges, felling trees and rolling stones on to the approaches to Ndaka-ini where no bridges existed. The rest of us were scheduled to leave early the following morning so that at about eight we could be on the scene of battle.
On the fateful day, General Matenjagwo organised us into three groups. The first group under Corporal Gicobe was responsible for covering the approaches where bridges had been blown up so that when government personnel carriers brought reinforcements and toppled into unbridged rivers or were otherwise grounded, they could engage in battle. The second group was placed under the command of Corporal Mukubu to cover the approaches where felled trees and boulders strewn on the road would ground any government relief troops who would be similarly engaged. I myself was in the third group led by General Matenjagwo and we were responsible for attacking the camp itself. In this third group were to be found all the leaders including Field Marshal Dedan Kimathi, Major-General Mbaria wa Kaniu, Brigadier Njatu wa Gakure, Colonel Ndungu wa Giceru and Sergeant Kago.
We moved off and arrived safely on the scene of battle. When we attacked, the women in the neighbourhood hailed our arrival with ululations which went on throughout the fight. We fought with such courage and determination that in no time we had made a breach in the defences and entered the camp. On entry, we released the prisoners, and as we had already captured seven government soldiers, we asked the prisoners about the soldiers' conduct. They said they had been cruel and beastly as they had beaten them savagely interrogating them. When we heard this, we chopped them up to pieces until they were not only dead, but very dead indeed.
The battle raged on until government forces took to flight; some of our soldiers pursued them while others went to raid the shops. Two lorries that were lying idle there were commandeered and started and as the running battle continued, eight lorry-loads of goods, including two sewing machines, were transported to the forest edge.
The Field Marshal and General Matenjagwo ordered a count of all government personnel we had killed. On taking the count, we found no fewer than twenty corpses of government soldiers. By this time, government forces had been completely routed and had been scattered in all directions. There was therefore nothing more to do but to round up as b***y the cattle, sheep and goats of government loyalists and to start our journey back to base.
As we prepared to go, those we had released entreated us to go with them as they feared they would be massacred in revenge by government forces if left in Kikuyuini. We took them with us and marched off towards the forest.
On arrival at the forest edge, armed fighters were detailed to take up positions and cover our retreat. When we reached the Location 1 mbuci, some of the loot was left there. But the people we had rescued accompanied us to the Location 2 mbuci which was also known as the Irati mbuci as it was situated at the head waters of Irati River.
We had, on arrival at the Location 1 mbuci, counted the people we had released and found them to be forty. We too were counted and it was established that eight of our men had been killed and six had been wounded. Both the dead and the wounded had been carried away to the forest as the battle raged. The dead had been buried and the injured treated for their wounds and moved to a hidden spot where they would receive attention while they recuperated. We also found we had captured two rifles --- a rifle and a shotgun.
Later, a message was received from the forest edge that government troops had followed our trail and when engaged by our rearguard had run away after sustaining four dead and after wounding three of our men. The wounded were later brought and taken to the area set aside for treatment. Addressing us on the spur of the moment, Field Marshal Dedan Kimathi expressed his deep appreciation of our courage and dedication and hoped that we would never backslide in our resolution but would keep up the same spirit so that the colonialists would realise we were determined to win our independence.
We Fought For Freedom
Gucu G. Gikoyo, 1979.
(📷 From left to right) General Gitau Matenjagwo, Brigadier Njatu wa Gakure and their orderly, Kariuki.
