Our Land, Our Freedom

Wanjugu Kimathi is the daughter of Dedan Kimathi, legendary leader of the Kenyan Land and Freedom Army, or Mau Mau. This resistance group fought the British colonial regime from 1952 to 1960 to stop it from confiscating land, a conflict known as the Mau Mau Rebellion. In 1957, the British authorities hanged Dedan for possession of firearms, and then dumped his body at an unknown location. Dedan’s daughter Wanjugu follows in her mother’s footsteps and continues the search for his remains. Along the way, she meets Mau Mau veterans, families of others who lost their land, and inspiring activists. She also discovers new atrocities and mass graves that the British would rather have remained secret. While carrying on her day job as a receptionist at an airport, Wanjugu attracted huge numbers of followers and she now poses a threat to the businesses and prominent political figures who are today still profiting from the policies of the former British regime. Our Land, Our Freedom is her story, a painful but also hopeful chapter in postcolonial history.