Alizaliwa Mnyazi wa Menza, kijijini Mutara wa Tsatsu, hapo Kilifi.
Alikuwa dada wa Nzai, Hare, Kithi, na Mwarandu.
Lakini anajulikana kwa jina lingine.
Mekatilili wa Menza.
Mekatilili’s name came from her son – Katilili and in the tradition of her community from the time he was born she was known as mother of Katilili. Widowed relatively young, her status as a widow gave her protection, and she was revered amongst her Giriama community.
Mekatilili grew up hearing tales of the diviner Mepoho’s prophesy and in her time the herald’s words came true as strange people from far away lands came and settled on the nearby coast.
She learned first hand of the traits of the strangers when her brother Kithi was abducted and enslaved. Her anger and frustration grew as she witnessed the ways and the homes of the Giriama were threatened by Arab and European invaders.
By the time her children were grown, a hut tax had been imposed on those living by the Sabaki river and the warrior widow could take it no more. Moving from village to village she would summon her people using the kifudu – a funeral dance that suggested the death of the Mijikenda.
In time her name became revered when at one baraza called by the British to find soldiers for the Kings African Rifles she walked in with a hen and chicks, daring the Administrator to try and take a chick and see what the hen would do in retaliation. When he stood up, aghast at the thought of an African woman threatening him she slapped him, right in the middle of the baraza.
That Mekatilili survived that bold move was perhaps an indication that her path was blessed. For this act she was sentenced to five years of prison time together with her relative Mwanje wa Mwadori. Dispatched on a goods train, Mekatilili and Mwanje went on the longest journey of their lives to a prison in Mumias. For them the location was too stark of a difference from the warmth of the Mijikenda lands with its baobabs and palm trees. Five months later they escaped and keeping the moon to the east they began a treacherously long trek back to their homeland. Miraculously, after three months they made it and were welcomed with ululations and feasting.
She would continue to rally her people across the villages and the sacred kaya’s in the great Arabuko Sikoke forest that ran the length of the Kenyan coastline for centuries. By now the Giriama knew that the great leader Mepoho had prophesied about had come in the form of the widow warrior.
In the kayas Mekatilili and the elders would administer the fisi oath. A powerful and feared oath that made even Giriama headmen betray their British employers in favour of their people. By 1913 the Giriama were ready for a fight and began an assault on the British armed forces using their spears and arrows dipped in the deadly utsungu poison. So began the Giriama Uprising of 1913 known as Kondo ya Chembe.
The assault was powerful and the enslaving British were overwhelmed. The incursions into Giriama land were defeated but sadly Mekatilili was captured once again. This time she was sent to a prison in Kismayu and for a while kept under heavy guard. But her captors underestimated the widow warrior and she bade her time. This time it took five long years but Mekatilili escaped once again and made it back to her people.
Meanwhile her imprisonment had enraged the Giriama and their assualts had continued. In retaliation the British burned down villages and when they got wind of a meeting in Kaya Fungo, it was razed to the ground. Nevertheless the Giriama were never quelled and eventually the British gave up on securing the land north of the River Sabaki for themselves.
By the time Mekatilili returned the Kayas still lay in ruins. Now a true elder she advocated for the return to the kayas and she led the way by restoring her own home, rebuilding deep in the remnants of the sacred forests.
The famed widow warrior passed away in 1924, in her beloved home. She is celebrated amongst her people and beyond, for the fight she fought, for the spirit she led with, and for the change she brought.
Mekatilili wa Menza …. penye nia pana njia