Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

Musa Mwariama, EBS (1928–1989) was a Kenyan revolutionary leader of the Mau Mau in

Meru Meru may refer to: Geography Kenya * Meru, Kenya, a city in Meru County, Kenya ** Meru County, created by the merger of *** Meru Central District *** Meru North District *** Meru South District * Meru National Park, a Kenyan wildlife park Tanza ...

and the highest-ranking Mau Mau leader who survived the war without being killed or captured. Together with Field Marshal

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 t ...

, they comprised the core Mau Mau leadership. Mwariama was the highest ranking leader among the Meru side of the uprising. By the time he left his bases in

Mount Kenya Mount Kenya (Kikuyu: ''Kĩrĩnyaga'', Kamba, ''Ki Nyaa'') is the highest mountain in Kenya and the second-highest in Africa, after Kilimanjaro. The highest peaks of the mountain are Batian (), Nelion () and Point Lenana (). Mount Kenya is locat ...

and Nyambene Hills on the

equator The equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can als ...

, he had about 2,000 fighters who had survived Operation Anvil in

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

. He was decorated with the national Order of

Elder of the Burning Spear An elder is someone with a degree of seniority or authority. Elder or elders may refer to: Positions Administrative * Elder (administrative title), a position of authority Cultural * North American Indigenous elder, a person who has and tr ...

(EBS) after independence. The most famous photograph of him is with President

Jomo Kenyatta Jomo Kenyatta (22 August 1978) was a Kenyan anti-colonial activist and politician who governed Kenya as its Prime Minister from 1963 to 1964 and then as its first President from 1964 to his death in 1978. He was the country's first indigenous ...

on attainment of Uhuru (independence) in 1963, and most of the postwar Mau Mau video clips show him inspecting a Mau Mau guard of honour or with President Jomo Kenyatta.

Early life

M'Kiribua M'Muchiri, or Mbaringu, or Muthigari Mugathe, or Nkumbuku, or Field Marshall Mwariama was born in 1928 at Muthara in Tigania division of

Meru District Meru or Meru District Council is one of the seven districts councils of the Arusha Region of Tanzania.The District covers an area of . and has an max elevation of . Meru District is bordered to the north by Longido District, to the east by Siha ...

. According to Ameru tradition, his parents who had migrated from Nkuene in South Imenti, gave him the name Baringo. He had an older brother called Romano Ntabathia though from a different mother. Their father, M'Muchiri was a soothsayer and strict traditionalist.

Death

Musa Mwariama died in 1989 at Ukambani after he sucked the leg of a friend who had been bitten by a venomous snake. He was buried at his 15-acre (6 ha) farm in Kiambogo Village, in Timau, North Buuri Constituency, Meru County.

References

External links

*In2EastAfrica
Dry tears of Mau Mau widows
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mwariama, Musa 1928 births 1989 deaths Kenyan rebels People of the Mau Mau Uprising Elders of the Order of the Burning Spear