More than 10,000 people were killed and others tortured during the brutal suppression of the Mau Mau uprising in the 1950s, one of the British Empire’s bloodiest insurgencies. In 2013 Britain expressed regret and paid out £20m ($24m) to more than 5,000 people – but some feel that didn’t go far enough.
One of those is 90-year-old Agnes Muthoni.
With a steady stride despite a stoop, she leads us to the grave site at her home in Shamata, central Kenya.
She plucks weeds that have grown next to her husband’s grave. Elijah Kinyua died two years ago, aged 93. He was also known as General Bahati, and like his wife was a fighter during the bloody uprising against the British Empire’s colonial government in the 1950s.
She held the rank of a major in the Kenya Land and Freedom Army – more commonly known as the Mau Mau.
Ms Muthoni breaks into a radiant smile as she shows us her wedding ring. They only met after the revolt ended and he was released from detention.
“He said if there were women fighters who survived, he would like to marry one of them because she would understand his problems and not call him Mau Mau.”
