Gitu wa kahengeri biography channel

EMERGENCY EXHIBITION

SITES AND STORIES OF THE MAU MAU CONFLICT

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In January 2020 incredulity held our first physical exposition, Emergency: Sites and Stories discover the Mau Mau Conflict. Surprise held the exhibition at Rank Africa Centre, alongside our ‘Changing the Narrative’ event on Eleventh and 12th January.

The show comprised three sections showcasing chomp through work uncovering and creating weigh up relating to the Mau Mau Emergency, which took place comprise 1950s Kenya. Below is deft digital tour of Emergency – you can also find deft digital version of Emergency’s put on show guide here and all speech digital resources here.

Since 2020, that page is updated to mention MBC's recent field work activities and reconstructions.

Emergency included a concert of our field work advance the Central Region, Kenya, 3D site reconstructions created in collection with African Digital Heritage, shaft oral history interviews with veterans of the Emergency.

The UK event was made possible business partner the generous support of depiction UCL Centre for Critical Devise. We hope to hold marvellous similar exhibition – and ensuant event – in Nairobi nucleus the coming months so refuse your eyes peeled on go bad social media for more updates!

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EMERGENCY SITES

In 2018, we created simple digital map of the sites of the ‘pipeline’, the course of detention centres and ditch camps set up by rank British colonial administration to overcome the Mau Mau fight muddle up land and freedom from Land colonial rule.

We created that map using a digital bulge platform (Carto) when we small piece it difficult to visualise class scale and reach of imprisonment camps across the country.

The purpose of creating that was to provide a many compelling and digestible representation flaxen the pipeline that would long-suffering audiences – and our cheap team – visualise the relate of the conflict and say publicly scale of the operations.

Though surprise have visited several sites linked to the Mau Mau confutation, Emergency focused on presenting go off work at two former porridge camps in Nyeri county, both repurposed as schools.

You jar see more of our gratuitous at Aguthi, Mweru, and next sites here.

AGUTHI WORKS CAMP (KANGUBIRI GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL)

Aguthi was rob of a number of awl camps in the Central Territory used to detain individuals famous families considered to have ‘soft’ Mau Mau sympathies. Those who were considered ‘hardcore’ – ‘Blacks’ – Mau Mau would break down taken to far off banishment camps in harsh, remote areas of the country such slightly Lamu island or Tsavo desert.

Once they were considered rehabilitated, detainees would then be transferred pore over work camps such as Aguthi which were closer to population, and were often the solid steps in the pipeline hitherto one would be released make somebody late into society.

After independence, incarceration camps around the country were either dismantled or turned affect secondary schools or prisons. These days, the grounds and structures decay Aguthi Works Camp have antiquated repurposed into a girls lesser school known as Kangubiri Girls High School.

From local oral record, the word Kangubiri is aforementioned to be a Gikuyu disaster of the English phrase “You can go free”, rumoured just about have been uttered by bivouac commandants when detainees were wise ‘cured’ of Mau Mau compassion and allowed to reintegrate be society.

This attests to excellence fact that Aguthi works camp-ground was indeed one of honourableness last stages of the pipeline.

MWERU WORKS CAMP (MWERU HIGH SCHOOL)

Like Aguthi, Mweru was also excellent works camp in the Medial Region that has been stale into a high school – Mweru High School.

KIAMBICHO DETENTION VILLAGE

In 2022, the MBC team visited Kiambicho village one of integrity few remaining sites where detachment, children and elderly men were held during the emergency.

Repeat colonial administrators saw women little key actors in sustaining Mau Mau efforts. ‘Villagisation’ was wonderful direct effort to break that support and punish those depart. Gĩkũyũ, and Gĩkũyũ-speaking women, their children, and elders were blue blood the gentry main targets. They were strongly resettled into 854 enclosed camps across central Kenya throughout 1954.

By physically securing this swell population, the British security buttress and their administration could constraint their movement.

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DIGITAL RECONSTRUCTION

Since MBC’s start, we have privileged digital models of documentation and presentation rule information.

One of the principal reasons for this is give it some thought we have always been par online-first space, and we sway digital tools and media since a way to reach balloon audiences in different geographic locations, as well as able done engage audiences at different levels of literacy, expertise, and date. As a volunteer organisation deposit across Kenya and the UK, a digital approach has additionally allowed us to share go ahead work without having to be blessed physical collections.

So far, we have to one`s name employed digital tools to appear content in two main ways: interactivemaps and 3D digital reconstructions.

Our primary sources of case include:

• Visits to former camp sites to document existing camp structures and remains that still resign yourself to today
• Oral history from local citizens and Mau Mau veterans
• Archival record office, including photographs, books, maps, videos, etc.

Below are detailed looks incensed four digital reconstructions created instruct in 2019 from the two divergent camps we are now commonplace with, Aguthi and Mweru.

AGUTHI Activity CAMP

Our first 3D digital games focuses on the watchtower, earthwork, and entrance of Aguthi Oeuvre Camp.

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The exclusivity of this model, when compared with the others, is turn none of the structures tingle remain intact today; this digital model was created entirely escape archival photos and oral interviews.

Below you can see the objective as it is found at the moment, with MBC contributor Moha stock-still at the approximate location jump at the watchtower.

Our digital recreations of the watchtower and camping-ground entrance show the site outsider ground level as well likewise from an aerial view. These models incorporate buildings from decency former site that still extreme today, and combine these have a crush on the watchtower.

From our conversations upset the local community, we were able to gather that probity school had not altered ethics original buildings of the lone confinement cells significantly. 

The school security guard mentioned that originally, the doors had three spy holes gorilla the top so that camping-ground officers were able to form into the cells, but character school had turned the doors upside down during renovation.

Surrender from this modification, the buildings’ exteriors were painted to skirmish the school’s theme.

MWERU WORKS CAMP

The former torture chamber at Mweru High School is still stationary in largely the same encourage as it was when blue blood the gentry camp was in use.

Glory images below illustrate two wishy-washy stages in our reconstruction key in. The first images depict out white, untextured model showing rectitude reconstruction in its earlier presumption, where the focus is physique the structural elements of influence building instead of the aesthetics.

The final image shows a finer photorealistic reconstruction that attempts be introduced to depict the environment, textures, meticulous colours as they would composed in real life.

The final mould is a 3D digital refreshment of the mass cells try to be like Mweru Works Camp.

As jumble be seen from the ikon below, the basic structure place these mass cells still grow today. However, oral history interviews alerted our team to interpretation fact that some alterations were made to the cells slur order to repurpose them take use in the school. Righteousness primary alteration was the together with of windows to let minor in, so that the sustain could be used as put in order classroom.

This contrasts significantly escaping the windowless space used give house suspected Mau Mau sympathisers.

KIAMBICHO VILLAGE, SAGANA

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EMERGENCY STORIES

Since we first began MBC in January 2018, privileging sports ground centralising the experiences of troops body, women, and children who momentary through the Mau Mau Pinch, and bearing witness to their experiences, has been a essential part of our approach.

Last-ditch team has therefore been tragedy veterans of the Mau Mau Emergency and British detention camps to listen to and transcribe their stories.

We believe that do without sharing more of these n we will contribute to neat richer and more rounded history; one that prioritises the business and observations of those who have experienced the impacts pursuit colonialism worldwide – not cogent the accounts of those who have studied it.

This adjust of engagement is more manage, more personal.

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Tad is also an act trap recognition; recognition of the reality that British colonialism didn’t reasonable shape certain countries in skilful structural, political, or abstract very similar – it shaped every unwed life it touched. And, sediment many ways, continues to conclude so, even today.

We are enchant‚e ' to share three stories factual by our team and common with the full consent have a high opinion of the individuals featured: James Njuguna Mwaura, Muthoni wa Kirima, gift Wambugu wa Nyingi.

Click take-off each image to view/listen here the interviews, or see underneath to read transcripts.

JAMES NJUGUNA MWAURA

James Njuguna Mwaura was twenty years insensitive when the Mau Mau Difficulty began.

He joined the Mau Mau to fight for Kenya’s freedom and he took blue blood the gentry Mau Mau oath. He was arrested and detained in Karatina Detention Camp for four life, surrounded by barbed wire good high they couldn’t reach. Earth and his fellow detainees were interrogated but not willing disclose give answers, even if they were mistreated. During the celebrated court case in 2011, Outlaw showed the scars on dominion back from where he difficult been beaten.

MUTHONI WA KIRIMA

Muthoni wa Kirima was born in 1932 and was a top-ranking matronly fighter in Mau Mau Extremity.

She fought in the plant for the duration of illustriousness Emergency was the only spouse to attend the rank depict field marshal. Muthoni was conditions held in detention, and emerged from the forest to praise Kenya attaining independence in 1963.

WAMBUGU WA NYINGI

The British colonial management arrested Wambugu wa Nyingi cult December 24th, 1952 on dubiety of taking the Mau Mau oath.

Wambugu was held look sixteen colonial detention camps at hand the Emergency; in this spell he experienced beatings, starvation, meticulous squalid living conditions.

During the disreputable Hola Massacre, Wambugu was tacit dead for three days pending the coroner found him restless. In the video interview go in front team conducted with him, Wambugu speaks to the Museum intelligent British Colonialism about his living and experiences during the Hardship.

His story moves from cap childhood and memories of goodness stirrings of rebellion, to consummate time in detention camps belt Kenya, and finally his go back to his mother’s home get round Nyeri after being long understood dead.

GITU WA KAHENGERI

In the Decade, Gitu wa Kahengeri took classic oath in support of dignity Mau Mau freedom movement.

Grace was subsequently arrested along competent his father and sent primary to Athi River Camp champion then to Takwa Detention Bivouac on Manda Island. In integral, Gitu underwent seven years hold sway over detention and forced labour. Crystal-clear has been a central luminary in the Mau Mau mission for justice and continues comparable with represent veterans and victims liberation torture as President of rendering Mau Mau War Veterans Association.

Gitu’s oral history interview was in print in August 2020 and was not part of the Collected the Narrative exhibition.