Musa Mwariama, EBS is a Kenyan revolutionary leader who helped fight for Mau Mau. As the highest-ranking Mau Mau leader, he was the only one from the Meru side of the uprising to survive the war without being killed. He was a founding member of the Kenyan African Union and led his troops to victory in 1952 against British troops at the Battle of Olenguruone.
When he left his bases in Mount Kenya and Nyambene Hills, he had about 2,000 fighters still alive after Operation Anvil. He was then awarded the Order of Elder of the Burning Spear.
One of the most famous photographs of Musa Mwariama is from 1963 when he was near the president, Jomo Kenyatta. This photograph is from the time when Kenya had gained its independence from the British. In addition, many of the post-war Mau Mau videos show him inspecting a Mau Mau guard of honour or with Jomo Kenyatta being there.
In the late 1980s, Field Marshal Musa Mwariama – a man who had dodged death during the Mau Mau war – died from being bitten by a snake. Mwariama’s real name was M’Kirigua M’Muchiri and he was a high-ranking war leader from Meru region.
Mwariama, who was 61 years old, had left Meru for Ukambani to visit a friend who had been bitten by a snake. Brave and selfless, he decided to help his friend in his time of need. He had not known that his act would be the cause of his death. His friend, though, did not die.
Throughout his life, Field Marshal Mwariama has been recognized as a revolutionary leader. In the Ameru language, his name means “one who speaks the truth.” This is because he was truthful man – a warrior you could trust.
Field Marshal Mwariama was born in 1928, near Tigania Division of Meru County. He fought in the Mathathi army which operated in the Meru region of Mt Kenya. This is a perfect example of the saying “an apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
Mwariama’s father, M’Muchiri Mawiri, was also a warrior. Mawiri was wealthy and owned many sheep. Much of Mwariama’s early childhood was spent looking after the sheep. As he grew up, Mwariama traveled to find employment to raise money for the hut tax imposed on Africans at the time.
In 1950, Mwariama joined a group of young African men who were planning to fight for freedom. This soon-to-be-formed army was named the Kenya Land and Freedom Army, and Mwariama was fascinated with their cause. They were among the youth who were disgruntled by the fact that white people had taken land from Africans.
A farmer’s son, Mwariama was not happy with the way the white settlers had taken fertile land and displaced people. His family had soaked up just as much as they could take. In 1915, his family lost land after the enactment of the Land Crown Ordinance in Kenya.
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