Mekatilili wa Menza One of the First Woman Freedom Fighter From the Kenyan Coast

How Mekatilili  wa Menza Led the Resistance against the British Colonialists in the Early 20^th Century

                        

                    Photo courtesy: Joe Desousa, Unsplash

Mekatilili wa Menza is a Kenyan activist, an honored legacy.  A woman who dedicated her early life and with the courage she led her people the Giriama, who are found in Kilifi County to resist British colonialism before Kenya’s Independence.

 She was born in the 1940s in the Giriama Village of Matsara wa Tsatsu, Ganze, Kilifi County, and her maiden name was Mnyanzi wa Menza.  She changed her name to Mekatilili after marrying and having a son named Katilili, so her name meant 'mother of Katilili.'  She had four brothers named Nzai, Hare, Kith, and Mwarandu, as well as one sister.  Kithi, one of her brothers, was kidnapped by Arab slave traders in a Kilifi market.

It was after the capture that she remembered Mepoho's prophecy, a reputable Giriama diviner.  It was about the arrival of strange people with sisal fiber hair.  She also recalled how strangers would erode Giriama culture and traditions.  The prophecy came true when the ImperialBritish Company (IBEA) arrived on the coast and began plundering local resources and attempting to subjugate the people.

The British Administration on the Giriama People

With forced labor and taxation in the early twentieth century, British Colonial rule threatened the Giriama people's sovereignty and freedom, as well as attempting to remove them from land near the Sabaki River.  The Giriama and British had little contact back then.  The emergence of British control in Giriama in 1913 heightened the resistance.

In May of that year, British administrator Arthur Champion appointed headmen and councils to preside over 28 newly established locations encompassing Giriama communities.

C.W Hobley, then District Commissioner of Seydie Province, was determined to turn Giriama into a well-organized community dedicated to the colonial administration.

They had no idea that the Giriama traditionally lacked a centralized political authority.  The elders were in charge of the Giriama Societies' political affairs, but they were not chiefs.  As a result, the Giriama Society was catapulted into a new world autocracy when the British appointed chiefs.

How Mekatilili Organized her People against British Control

Women's power was limited in her society at the time, but Mekatilili felt compelled to organize her people against colonial control.  Mekatilili's activism began in her seventies when she was in her seventies.  Mekatilili is remembered as one of Kenya's first Mau Mau (freedom fighters), traveling from village to village spreading anti-government messages while performing the ecstatic native burial dance of Kifudu.

This she did in order to draw large crowds and then use her powerful oratory skills to gain support.  She spoke at meetings in the Giriama's ritual center, the Kaya Fungo, in July and August 1913.  These types of gatherings were frequently followed by the swearing of anti-British oaths.

This she did in order to draw large crowds and then use her powerful oratory skills to gain support.  She spoke at meetings in the Giriama's ritual center, the Kaya Fungo, in July and August 1913. These types of gatherings frequently ended with anti-British oaths promising to resist colonial rule.

She did this to draw large crowds and then use her powerful oratory skills to gain support. In July and August 1913, she spoke at Giriama ritual meetings in the Kaya Fungo, the Giriama's ritual center. These gatherings frequently ended with anti-British oaths promising to resist colonial rule.

        Dancers during the Mekatilili wa Menza festival

One of Mekatilili's most famous acts of rebellion was her attendance at a meeting held on August 13, 1913, by British administrator Arthur Champion, who was attempting to recruit Giriama youth for service in World War One.  Mekatilili walked into the meeting holding a hen and chicks, daring the administrator to take one of the chicks from her.  When he reached out, the mother henpecked his hand, humiliating him in front of everyone.  "This is what you will get if you try to take one of our sons," Mekatilili told him as the hen pecked the administrator.

Arthur Champion discovered Mekatilili and her son-in-law Wanje wa Mwadorokola had arrived before him and were administering anti-British oaths during his inspection tours through Giriama areas in 1913.  On October 17, 1913, the two were arrested and sentenced to five years in prison.

Later, while documenting the impact of Mekatilili's campaign, Arthur Champion admitted that every Giriama is more afraid of the Kiraho (oath) than of the government. Mekatilili's activism had single-handedly weakened British authority among the Giriama.

Mekatilili's activism did not end with her arrest; while in prison, she addressed her concerns about the Giriama Society's cultural changes to Arthur Champion. Her complaints included the introduction of cents and rupees, the short skirts worn by Giriama women, and the resulting immorality.

By rejecting the British Colonial government, Mekatilili also called for a return to the traditional Giriama governance system.  Mekatilili and Wanje were deported to a Kisiiprison shortly after making the statement.  According to historical records, the two were released on January 14, 1914, and trekked for over 700 kilometers back to Kilifi. Mekatilili was apprehended just two days after returning home.

Twelve days before Mekatilili's second arrest, British authorities used dynamite to destroy a portion of Kaya Fungo.  On August 16, 1914, the Giriama attacked a group of British policemen in the northern Giriama settlements, triggering open hostilities. Twenty police officers then dispersed a crowd of Giriama and raided a nearby village to apprehend a suspected rioter and a variety of weapons.

On the 19th of the same month, Arthur Champion's camp was set on fire, and in retaliation, he ordered local police to destroy nearby villages and decimate the Giriama crop. These incidents put additional strain on the British, who were also dealing with German hostilities in Tanganyika.

Peace Agreement and end of British Control at the Northern Kenyan Coast

The British had no choice but to negotiate a peaceful resolution. On the 4th of October, peace terms were agreed upon, and the Giriamas were ordered to pay a fine of 100,000 rupees or goats at 3 rupees each, raise 100 laborers, surrender all arms, move from the northern bank of the Sabaki River, and surrender all tribal heads and rebel leaders.  Everything had to be completed in ten days.

                    A graffiti of Mekatilili wa Menza

The Giriama refused to pay the funds to the British shortly after the peace agreement was signed.  The Governor of Kenya, on the other hand, had ordered the KAR (King Africa Rifles) to remain on Giriama land in order to end all hostilities against the British and ensure reparations were paid. As a result, the fighting ceased, and the Giriamas paid the agreed-upon fine.

The provincial commissioner, C.W Hobley, decreed in 1917 that the Giriama should re-occupy the north bank of the Sabaki River, stating that "if injustice has been done, it is our duty to repair it.”  The Giriama were able to take back the Kaya Fungo in 1919.

                              An art doodle done by google

The uprising compelled the British colonial authorities to relinquish control of Giriama territory. As support for Mekatilili and her rallying cry grew, the British were forced to concede to their claims for Kaya Fungo's return.  Later that year, Mekatilili was released from prison and allowed to return to the Kaya, where they served as leaders of the women's and men's councils, respectively.

Mekatilili died of natural causes in the 1920s and was laid to rest in the Dakacha woodland.

Mekatilili's Sculpture in Malindi Museum

In Kilifi County, she is remembered every August.  In recent years, significant commemorative efforts have been made to recognize her pivotal role in the fight against British colonialism.  On September 9, 2012, during the first annual Mashujaa or Heroes Day, a statue of Mekatilili was officially launched at Uhuru Garden in Malindi, which was renamed Mekatilili wa Menza Garden in her honor. Google also featured a photo essay detailing Mekatilili's story in collaboration with the National Museum of Kenya and other partners.

“The recognition of Mekatilili wa Menza by Google goes a long way in reinforcing what we believe in as National Heroes Council and a country” – tweeted The National Heroes council. 

Her statue is now housed in the Malindi Museum, alongside Giriama artifacts.