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There are very few tales about the role women played in resisting the British colonialist but one that stands out is that of Mekatilili wa Menza from the Giriama community.
She was born Mnyazi wa Menza in the 1840s, the only daughter in a poor family of five children, and became Mekatili when she had her first baby boy Katilili. Mnyazi was traditionally married to to Dyeka wa Duka at Bungale, a village close to Lango Baya in Magarini. She became an active member of traditional women’s fellowship, Makushekushe and hifudu. She later became the head of Makushekushe.
When her husband died it gave her more freedom to move as a woman leader. She started by leading a public baraza at Chakama to protest English recruitment of African porters for WWI; they responded by firing at the crowd. Her bravery, oratorical power and charisma earned her a huge following and saw her mobilise the Giriama to take oaths and offer sacrifices to restore their sovereignty.
Mekatilili opposed forced labour in British-owned rubber and sisal plantations, the colonial hut tax (forcing every family to give money to the British), land seizure evictions from the fertile Sabaki River Valley and restricted consumption of palm wine.
Earlier the British had undermined her influence but they discovered their assertions of her were wrong when they saw how powerful she had become and how she had gained the trust from the Midzi-Chenda community. They schemed to arrest Mekatilili and succeeded on 17th October 1913. Together with Wanje wa Mwadorikola they were taken to prison in Kisii but later escaped in April 1914 and walked back home to continue leading the revolution.
Mekatilili’s liberation movement resulted in the Giriama uprising of 25th October 1914 which led to the death of many Giriamas. The short term view was that the British had won and the Giriama were forced into a stringent peace settlement but some say that the policy reversal where the British government removed land restrictions and lightened labor demands helped the Giriama achieve the main goals for which they fought for.
Despite her exploits, Mekatilili, who died in 1925 at the age of 70, was not recognised among Kenyan freedom fighters until October 20, 2010, the first ‘Mashujaa’ (Heroes) Day, when her statue was unveiled at Uhuru Gardens in Nairobi — renamed Mekatilili wa Menza Garden — in her honour.