On 20th October 1952, the fate of many Kenyans was sealed when Sir Evelyn Baring declared a State of Emergency on the nation. With the country under British military rule, mass incarceration of Kenyan political leaders was undertaken with immediate effect. A ban was also placed on Mau Mau operations which made the fighters retreat to the Aberdare Forest and begin the guerilla warfare. The British Army was deployed to areas of European settlement and the King’s African Rifles to fenced villages where different communities had been resettled and isolated from each other after being evicted from their land. Despite all these restrictions, Kenyans continued to agitate for their freedom, and one of the people who was a part of this liberation struggle was Jacinta Kabika.
Born in the early 1940s in Nkinyang’a village in Nyambene, Jacinta came into a world that was cracking under the pressure of colonialism. The strain of maintaining a semblance of normalcy fell onto her parents, who did so by sending her to a Catholic mission school that had been established in the area by the Consolata Fathers. Jacinta experienced life through two lenses; a home life in which she obeyed her parents, and a school-church life in which she followed the teachings of the missionaries. After the declaration of the State of Emergency, these two worlds collided when her parents took a stand for what they believed in.
One night, under the cover of darkness, Mau Mau agents posing as miraa traders visited Jacinta’s home and her entire family took an oath of allegiance to the rebels. Being a staunch Catholic, young Jacinta felt compelled to confess the events of that night to her priest but restrained from doing so since this decision would have dire consequences for her loved ones. Unable to harmonize these two spheres of her life, she dropped out of school and focused her attention on home duties.
With time came an understanding of her parents’ decision and an acceptance of the life they had roped her into. The world around Jacinta had fractured. Africans had to work as underpaid servants on land they once called home and lost their lives for demanding what was rightfully theirs. With this change of mindset, she slowly eased herself into Mau Mau activities.
Together with other female scouts, Jacinta prepared food for the freedom fighters. This was a beginning point for her as she slowly morphed into an espionage role. In due time, she befriended police officers at Muthara Police Station and bought bullets from them to deliver to the fighters. She built a reputation for herself because of her intelligence work and quickly rose through the ranks to become one of the forest warriors. It is during this period that the young spy caught the attention of Field Marshall Musa Mwariama and a betrothal ensued.
When Jacinta was not on the battlefield, she was making firearms, arrows and spears for her fellow soldiers. Her choice of weapon was a pistol whose barrel was never empty. Jacinta’s allegiance to the struggle earned her a promotion to the position of General. An alias was required for her new militant role and the one chosen was Nkobia – the Ameru name for hat. General Nkobia remained a fierce forest fighter until Kenya became an independent state. Only when she had witnessed the fruits of her labour did she surrender her pistol at Ruring’u Stadium in Nyeri during the Jamhuri Day celebration.
57 years down the road and Jacinta Kabika Mwariama’s contribution to our uhuru remains celebrated. Even after her passing on 29th April 2018, her unwavering spirit lives on with each year’s Jamhuri Day celebrations. We salute you, General Nkobia. May your sacrifices never go unappreciated.