A film rarely spoken about yet was one that set the pace for other Kenyan films is Enough is Enough by filmmaker KibAara Kaugi. Inspired by his upbringing on the eastern slopes of Mount Kenya, in a small town called Chuka, his childhood was filled with tangible manifestations of the Mau Mau, from the concentration camps in which the freedom fighters were held and tortured to the trenches dug when the rebellion was at its peak. This 2005 feature film thus is KibAara’s way of paying homage to the Jamhuri veterans.
The film begins with sound: a brief narration in Kikuyu from an elderly woman by the name Wamuyu wa Gakuru. She takes us with her into the Aberdare Forests, and from this point in the film, she is portayed by Silimicious Njeri Wangare.
Recruited as a Mau Mau informant, Wamuyu’s loyalty is to those like her. She is selected because of her day job at the colonial administration offices where she listens in on conversations, seeking information that could be useful to the freedom fighters’ strategy. The information she shares with them helps them plan their attacks, steal weapons, and create exit strategies. Wamuyu, however, is forced to join the bush army after her espionage is uncovered.
KibAara’s tenacity was seen in his research process; he went above and beyond, first turning to the resource centre that is the Kenya National Archives and thereafter intentionally visiting some of the Mau Mau shujaas. The latter led him to Wamuyu wa Gakuru’s doorstep and this is how he got her to intro for the film. According to KibAara, these first-hand accounts not only enriched the film he wanted to create, but also informed major aspects of the film’s standpoint. This included shifting the focus of the story from renowned Mau Mau solider, Dedan Kimathi, to a lesser known Stanley Mathenge, who is portrayed by Gatonye Mbugua in the film.
Pre-production for Enough is Enough began in early 2001 and went on until the tail end of the next year. The production phase of filmmaking dragged on until March 2005 due to inadequate resources. This was extremely frustrating for KibAara and his only concern during this period was for the wellbeing of his cast. Looking back at this trying time, KibAara is ever grateful to the crew and cast for their perseverance in those four years.
The wait was worth it on 31st May 2005 when Enough is Enough finally got the screen time it deserved. The Mau Mau-based feature film premiered at the Nu Metro Cinema at Prestige Plaza, Nairobi. Impressively, it was the first African movie to premier at a major cinema hall in the country. For a fortnight at Prestige, Enough if Enough was the film to watch, and word about its portrayal of Kenya’s history made lovers of film and story all the more interested in viewing it. For a low budget film – and a Kenyan one at that – it did very well; it caught the attention of international media outlets like CNN, BBC, and Deutsche Welle who sought Kaugi out for interviews on his latest masterpiece.
Enough is Enough is a film that celebrates the roles played by women and acts as a solution gateway to the issue that women heroes often go unsung or unpraised. Celebration for this #KeFilm continues to date primarily for this aspect as well as for its unadulterated depiction of the independence struggle. We applaud KibAara’s dedication to telling OUR story. His resolve to spearhead the telling of one of Kenya’s stories (as a Kenyan) makes him, without a doubt, one of our Paukwa People.
