For Dedan Kimathi Poem by kelvin karani

FOR DEDAN KIMATHI
(18.02.2009. -52 YEARS LATER)

Liberator
Freedom fighter
A courageous commander
Is what you were
And much more sir,
I salute you.

In you was embodied
The spirit of Kenya
Our motherland
Shamelessly defiled
Repeatedly raped
By the white settler colonialist
Missionary activists
And our people- loyalists.

Around you,
The masses revolved
You were the sun
They were the planets
You were a magnet
They were pieces of iron

A terrorist they called you
Leading cannibals
But you remained true
To the cause of freedom and justice
And equality of all men
You paid the ultimate price
To unyoke your country
And so did others,
The MAU MAU.

Five decades later
The Hague is vague
Maize and other eatables
Are pushed down with petrol
The land for which you died
Suffers even the more
Boiled mangoes and paw paws
And roasted rats
Is the staple food!

Five decades later
They still walk in tatters
Living in shacks
With no opportunities
With no help
To better their mundane lives.

Five decades later
The fruits of independence
Are yet to fall down
Its meaning,
Is yet to dawn on us.
We still,
Walk in the mists of freedom
We cannot see
The place we are going.
Sir,
For what did you die?