Field Marshal Muthoni Kirima on Thursday paid Mama Ngina Kenyatta a visit to express her gratitude to the former First Lady’s assistance to her and her family.
The Mau Mau veteran made headlines last year after she invited Mama Ngina to shave her decades-old dreadlocks which she said signified the end of the struggle that she and Kenya underwent under the colonial rule.
Other than the act of cutting her locks, Mama Ngina also offered assistance to clear a Sh4.7 million loan that the freedom fighter had taken from a local bank.
The former First Lady also bought her a home in Nyeri last year.
Muthoni also thanked Mama Ngina for accepting her invitation to travel to Nyeri on April 1 last year to shave her dreadlocks.
She cited that the act of cutting her hair symbolised the end of the struggles Kenya underwent under colonial rule.
Muthoni said cutting her dreadlocks signified that her desires as a freedom fighter had been met by the government but did not state which desires.
At the thanksgiving occasion which took place at Mama Ngina’s Muthaiga home, the Field Marshal was accompanied by over a dozen members of her immediate family and a handful of Kikuyu elders.
Also president was Agnes Kagure, Nairobi-based business woman and politician.
"I cut my hair because it has been a long journey. I started keeping this hair in 1952 and after more than 70 years, I needed to get rid of them. I now feel like a young girl," Muthoni said.
Most of the Mau Mau freedom fighters took a vow to never shave until the country gained independence.
During the short ceremony, Mama Ngina received gifts from the family of the Field Marshal that included goats, a pot, a three-legged stool, a traditional tray, a kiondo (African basket) and food from her shamba.
While registering her appreciation for the visit, Mama Ngina observed that Muthoni’s dreadlocks will be preserved in the museum.
This, she said, would remind future generations and visitors from all over the world of the sacrifices Kenyan freedom fighters made for the liberation of the country from colonial rule.
This was the first time Mama Ngina opened up her home to the media.
Speaking during the event, she said she felt honoured to have been selected as the one to shave the freedom fighter’s hair.
Mama Ngina stated that keeping hair for such a long time signified a lot of perseverance that the freedom fighters underwent under the harsh colonial rule, thus it should be taken with the weight it deserves.
“Dreadlocks were the hairstyle that was associated with the Mau Mau while fighting in the forest as they barely had time to properly groom their hair, making it to lock,” she said.
