To those of us who only hear stories of the Mau Mau rebellion, General Kago's "military campaign" may sound untrue or exaggerated. However, the story told about him at Ruathia, Kigumo, Kanyenyaini, Ichichi and Kiriaini is very much the same.
If Kago's achievements are not worthy any more than naming a street or two after him, at least the story of his achievements during the struggle for the liberation of this country is worth knowing. Eye witnesses to some of his attacks on police and loyalist guard posts say of General Kago: "Arī mūndū mūrūme" (he was a man).
The audacious General Kago (pictured, right) was born at Ruathia in Location 12 of Fort Hall District (Murang'a) soon after the end of the First World War. The real name of the man who was later to be hailed as the Mau Mau "Black Napoleon" was Kariuki wa Chege.
During the Second World War he travelled widely abroad fighting alongside the British troops as part of the King's African Rifles (KAR). Following the end of the War he returned home and immediately left the army career. When the Kenya African Union was formed in 1946 Kariuki found himself temporary employment in selling the Party's newspapers on the streets of Nairobi. He sold these vernacular newspapers for some time before moving from Nairobi to the Rift Valley where he stayed until 1952. In the Rift Valley he became a squatter on a European farm. He remained here as a strong supporter of KAU and a member of the militant Forty Group (Riika ria 40) which had been formed by his colleagues and ex-servicemen.
At the beginning of 1953 Kariuki was among the thousands of Kikuyu squatters who were repatriated from the Rift Valley back to the African reserve.. The country was already under a state of emergency. Having taken the Mau Mau oath in the Rift Valley Kariuki decided to join the war of liberation after some considerable pressure from Fort Hall Mau Mau fighters who wanted him to lead them in the struggle against the Government. He voluntarily consented to the call and after bidding good-bye to his family he left home, not knowing that he would never return. He entered the southern part of the Aberdare forest where he joined with other fighters from Fort Hall. The other fighters accepted him as their leader and honoured him with the rank of General. He was from then on to be known as General Kago.
The only person superior to him among the Fort Hall Mau Mau was Macharia Kimemia. Macharia had entered the forest earlier with a big following from Kigumo Division of Fort Hall district. He had immediately become Kimathi's right-hand-man and his most trusted friend.
General Kago's first major attack was on his home's guard post at Ruathia. The Home Guard boma was situated about 18 miles of Fort Hall town. It was manned by Headman William and some 16 Kikuyu guards, five tribal police and five Masai trackers. The Masai were being used by the Government to track down the Mau Mau in the forest and the reserve as a hunter tracks down a wild animal by following its footprints. On Wednesday night, April 29, 1953, Kago decided to wipe out the camp and show the loyalists that he meant business. The attack was heralded by the blowing of a military bugle which acted as Kago's "war horn". Three guards and four policemen were killed, seven other guards were taken prisoner and later killed. The camp was burned to the ground, Kago's men managing to make off with three .303 rifles, three shot-guns, a .22 rifle, one pistol and a lot of ammunition.
Kago was greatly encouraged by the success of this attack. He planned district-wide sabotage measures to coincide with Queen Elizabeth's Coronation which was to be held on Tuesday, June 2, 1953. A small bridge below Ruathia was the first one to be destroyed. Simultaneously road blocks were established between Kanyenyaini and Ichichi. The road blocks consisted of trenches three or four feet deep and about five feet wide. Some were surrounded with trees and large boulders. A bridge over the Maragua river and two others on the Tuso Road were also wrecked. Road blocks were similarly established on those roads. On the same night a guard post at Kiruri was burned to the ground while another guard post at Ichichi was raided.
By this time Kago's name and his activities had become common talk in Fort Hall. His courageous undertakings and his men's determination in their raids made each guard post in the district tremble. His men seemed to have been everywhere in the district. He would attack one loyalist post in one area and then move his men fifty or sixty miles and make another attack a week or two later. As a result it became very difficult for the government forces to locate a specific area where Kago operated.
On May 10, 1953, Kago with a force of about 150 armed with sten guns, rifles and simis ambushed a party of four European and fourteen African police and military askaris at Kandenderu in Location 2 of the Fort Hall reserve. The Mau Mau held the security forces at bay for nearly half an hour. After suffering casualties of about 40 Mau Mau killed, Kago and his group withdrew. His group included men and women, all dressed in long black coats which they used to refer in Kikuyu as "mahuthu".
The European officers who were engaged in the ambush were amazed by the courage shown by the Mau Mau. They said later after the attacks: "These men and women seemed to have been under the influence of some drug. Even when Bren-Gun fire was pouring into them at the range of 15 yards, they did not waver but came straight for us".
After this attack Kago was put under constant pressure by the security forces. Throughout June he was rendered less active. No big raids could be organized due to Government surveillance.
But on July 13, 1953, he attacked Kigumo Guard Post in location 12 to answer his long silence. After two hours of hard, hand to hand fighting, the post fell. Its entire guard of thirteen loyalists and one tribal policeman were killed. The Mau Mau escaped with some rifles and shotguns.
Government pressure continued to mount against Kago and his men who were now continuously operating in the Fort Hall reserve. Since the over-running of the Kigumo Guard Post, Kago fought in running battles without scoring major victories. He was forced to be always on the move. Towards the end of September he was operating from a forest near Thika. It was from here that he attacked a road block at a place called Kisukioni on the Yala road between Thika and Machakos on Thursday night, September 24. The road block was manned by armed African police. For the first time the Mau Mau used a crude form of home made bombs. These consisted of bottles filled with petrol. The attackers hurled the missles at the security men which burst among the tents setting them on fire. The attackers who struck swiftly took the police party by surprise. The defenders who included Regular and tribal police and members of the Kenya police reserve got confused, panicked and scattered in all directions. The attack, though of a relatively small scale proved very rewarding. The Mau Mau netted two rifles and 56 rounds of ammunition. They suffered no casualties...
Six Mau Mau Generals
Paul Maina, 1977