KENYA: The Terrorist

In the days, not so long ago, when the bloodthirsty Mau Mau were terrorizing all of Kenya, there was no fiercer character in all the jungle than Dedan Kimathi, a scarred, stocky ex-clerk who had fought and jockeyed his way to the leadership of all the guerrillas. Not content with his popular title, “General Russia,” Dedan capped his arrogance by calling himself Field Marshal Sir Dedan Kimathi and appointing a parliament of his own to preside over. The Nairobi government put a price of £500 on his head.

With the success of British arms, and quarreling within their own ranks, the Mau Mau are now on the run. Kimathi and a rival leader split up and went their separate ways. For the past six months the activities of both factions have been confined to a few raids on local cowherds. A refugee captured by Kenya police as he left Kimathi’s camp recently has provided a vivid picture of the once great chieftain in his twilight hour. Broken in health and mind, 35-year-old Dedan Kimathi now spends his days making wild speeches to the jungle trees and his nights raving endlessly. He lies on a litter of branches, blubbering and blabbering about reform in the Liberation army, while his friends search the woods for monkeys to eat. Whenever a police patrol comes near, the 20 loyal henchmen (and teen-age henchwomen) who still surround him hustle Kimathi into a nearby cave and gag him to keep him quiet.