The last of the Mau Mau fighters

In 1963, as Kenya celebrated independence from British rule, one of the last Mau Mau fighters came out of hiding and laid down her arms.

Muthoni Kirima was the first and only woman to be appointed field marshall in the Kenya Land and Freedom Army - better known as the Mau Mau.

She had been living in the Kenyan forest for 11 years, fighting with other armed rebels to reclaim land taken by European settlers.

Thousands died or were imprisoned as Britain tried to crush the uprising. But the rebellion was later seen as paving the way to independence.

Jane Wilkinson has found out more through Muthoni Kirima's interview with the Mau Mau Chronicles oral history project.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.

For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken.

We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva, Haitian singer Emerante de Pradines’ life and Omar Sharif’s legendary movie entrance in Lawrence of Arabia.

You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, like the invention of a stent which has saved lives around the world; the birth of the G7; and the meeting of Maldives’ ministers underwater. We cover everything from World War Two and Cold War stories to Black History Month and our journeys into space.

(Photo: Field Marshall Muthoni Kirima, 1963. Credit: Smith Archive/Alamy)

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(2000)

Treetops: The day a princess became a queen

In 1952, Princess Elizabeth became queen while staying at the Treetops Hotel in Kenya. But she wouldn't make the discovery until hours later.The 25-year-old Princess Elizabeth and her husband were on ...

11 Elo 10min

Finding the den of the Tsavo man-eaters

In 1997, scientists travelled to Tsavo, Kenya, in search of a cave believed to have been the den of the man-eating lions that terrorised railway workers in 1898.The two lions stalked Indian and Africa...

10 Elo 11min

The origins of the all-inclusive holiday

Holidaymakers arrived at the first Club Med resort on the Spanish island of Majorca in the summer of 1950. Founded by the Belgian water polo player Gérard Blitz, Club Méditerranée offered a new kind o...

7 Elo 10min

When Taiwan’s ‘White Terror’ ended

In 1987, Taiwan finally lifted martial law after nearly four decades of authoritarian rule.The moment marked a profound shift for a society long shaped by censorship, surveillance and political fear.F...

6 Elo 9min

Ashley Kriel: South Africa's anti-apartheid 'Che Guevara'

In the 1980s, townships in the Cape Flats area of Cape Town became an unexpected hotbed of activity against South Africa's apartheid government. One charismatic young activist emerged as a leader of t...

5 Elo 10min

The first carbon offset

In 1988, as floods struck Bangladesh and a heat wave swept across the United States, climate change became a political issue. Governments and businesses alike talked about how to stop it, or at least ...

4 Elo 9min

City of God: The film that reshaped global cinema

In 2001, filming began on City of God which would stun audiences with its unflinching honesty.It captured the brutal realities of child gangsters from Rio De Janeiro’s favelas trapped in an unforgivin...

3 Elo 10min