Kurito ole Kisio was a Mau Mau general who was killed in

Narok Narok (sometimes referred to as Narok Town) is a town west of Nairobi that supports Kenya's economy in south-west of the country, along the Great Rift Valley. Narok is the district capital of the Narok County and stands as the major centre of ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

, in 1954. One of the lesser known leaders of the rebellion, Kisio was the highest ranking Mau Mau leader from the

Maasai Maasai may refer to: * Maasai people *Maasai language * Maasai mythology * MAASAI (band) See also * Masai (disambiguation) * Massai Massai (also known as: Masai, Massey, Massi, Mah–sii, Massa, Wasse, Wassil or by the nickname "Big Foot" Mas ...

community. He fought alongside Turesh ole Tikani and Muntet ole Nkapiani. Although little is known about him today, Kisio's role in the freedom movement was important because it shows the Mau Mau Uprising was not a

Kikuyu Kikuyu or Gikuyu (Gĩkũyũ) mostly refers to an ethnic group in Kenya or its associated language. It may also refer to: * Kikuyu people, a majority ethnic group in Kenya *Kikuyu language, the language of Kikuyu people *Kikuyu, Kenya, a town in Cent ...

-only affair. According to Mau Mau chronicler Karari Njama, ole Kisio was the fourth most powerful man within Mau Mau ranks. He had an army of about 800 fighters operating from Melili Forest in Narok.

Background

Although subdued by colonial domination and disease decades earlier, the Maasai were not all collaborators as most historical narratives of the rebellion portray them. Instead, there were at least two large scale units in Maasailand, one in Narok led by Kisio and another in Kajiado. Their grievances were primarily about land, since a large chunk of the land the new colony was built on, including the capital city

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper h ...

, had been part of Maasai grazing grounds. General ole Kisio was one of many Maasai men who were recruited to fight for the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. He left Kenya when he was 15 in the same group as Turesh ole Tikani and Muntet ole Nkapiani, who became his lifelong friends. When they returned, Kurito, now aged 19, married Miriam Enekurito, a Kikuyu girl whose family had settled in Narok. He then joined the freedom movement. One of his first roles in the rebellion was to ferry stolen guns and other equipment from Narok to Elementaita and Nyandarua. Later, he became one of the most important leaders of the rebellion.

Death

Because of his involvement with the rebellion, Kisio's wife was arrested, beaten and detained. Kisio was lured from the forest by two of his friends in Rotien, Narok in 1954. He was shot and killed, and his body paraded outside a hospital. His friend and second-in-command, General Nkapian was captured and also paraded publicly in a cage before he was hanged, marking the effective end of the Maasai role in the mainstream Mau Mau rebellion. Kisio's role in the movement, as at the highest decision-making levels, shows the nationalistic composition of the rebellion. The highest rank was given to

Dedan Kimathi Dedan Kimathi Waciuri (31 October 1920 – 18 February 1957), born ''Kimathi wa Waciuri'' in what was then British Kenya, was the senior military and spiritual leader of the Mau Mau Uprising. Widely regarded as a revolutionary leader, he led th ...

, although at least three others held the position of Field Marshal.

References

{{reflist People of the Mau Mau Uprising 1954 deaths Year of birth missing