Our walk continues

We carried on past examples of Art Deco architecture to a statue of Field Marshal Dedan Kimathi, the senior military and spiritual leader of the Mau Mau Uprising. Widely regarded as a revolutionary leader, he led the armed military struggle against the British colonial regime in Kenya in the 1950s until his capture in 1956 and execution in 1957. Kimathi is credited with leading efforts to create formal military structures within the Mau Mau and convening a war council in 1953.

Kenyan nationalists view him as the heroic figurehead of the Kenyan freedom struggle against British colonial rule, while the British government saw him as a terrorist. Despite being viewed with disdain by the first two presidents of independent Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel arap Moi, Kimathi and his fellow Mau Mau rebels were officially recognised as heroes in the struggle for Kenyan independence under the Mwai Kibaki administration, culminating in the unveiling of the two-metre tall Kimathi statue in 2007. Sculpted with a dagger in his left hand and a rifle in his right, Kimathi cuts a striking figure.

Our walk then took us through the part of Nairobi which is home to all of the parliamentary buildings, as well as the national courts of justice. No photography is allowed in this area.Read more