On January 1st 1902, the British government formed The Kings’ African Rifles. It comprised of several battalions located in different East African countries; each of these battalions was made up of African men, simply referred to as askaris, who voluntarily took up arms to fight for and beside the British. One such askari was Kurito Ole Kisio, and this is the story of how he went from fighting in world wars to becoming a revered independence hero.
As a newly initiated moran in 1939, Kurito was in search of adventure. Just as he was starting out this phase of his life that was characterized with vigour and bravery, Africans from European colonies were being enlisted to fight in the looming second World War. Kurito joined the King’s African Rifles and was deployed after being trained in the art of war. For six years, he served on the battle frontlines, fighting Italians during the East African Campaign and the Japanese during the Burma Campaign. Even after the war came to an end in 1945, Kurito remained an askari until 1949 when he was discharged from his duties. Upon his return, he regaled his friends and family with tales of parachuting off planes and the exoticism of faraway lands.
A new chapter of Kurito’s life began when he tied the knot with his childhood friend, Miriam Enekurito, and settled into his matrimonial home in Oloropil, Narok. While the two were living out their happily ever after, the grim realities of colonialism pierced through their home sanctuary when a State of Emergency was declared. Fighting strangers in foreign places had a sense detachability, but this time round the war had come to his doorstep and the repercussions were very visible. In this moment, Kurito had a decision to make. Together with several other former askaris, Kurito sought out the Mau Mau and took the oath.
Having trained as a military officer, Kurito had indispensable knowledge about war tactics and how to get an upper hand on the opponents. Raids on settler homes and detention camps in search of firearms began. Guns, ammunition, medication, and military uniforms that were obtained during these raids were ferried from Narok to Elementaita and Nyandarua. These would later be used to storm police stations, prisons, and concentration camps and release the incarcerated.
In a short span of time, Kurito’s battalion grew from a handful of men to an army of over 800 morans. Their operational base was Melili Forest where they exercised guerilla warfare with reach as far as Ololulung’a and Suswa. His prison break strategy worked so well that it began to destabilise British efforts of colonial rule. This moran’s war efforts soon became a double-edged sword. He soon became the fourth in command in the Mau Mau, but also a wanted man by the British.
With a bounty on his head, Kurito retreated almost completely to the forest as the manhunt for him intensified. To take even more precaution, he relocated his wife from Oloropil to the more secluded Loita Hills. Despite his best efforts, Miriam was tracked down and detained, the first Kenyan arrested for collusion with the Mau Mau. There she remained, enduring months of endless torture and interrogation while pregnant with their first child.
Kurito’s ability to evade arrest for a prolonged period earned him the nickname Sangera – the Maasai word for hare. But on 3rd September 1954, his long streak came to an end when he walked into an ambush. British soldiers, who had been tracking his movements for a while, camouflaged in a thicket and instructed him to surrender as he exited the forest. Knowing what lay in store for him in the event of capture, Kurito opened fire in a bid to fight his way out of the situation. His attack was retaliated and Kurito was killed in action. His body was then paraded outside a hospital in Narok for several days, a scare tactic to discourage other Maasais from joining the Mau Mau.
One cannot help but think about the Kenyan flag and how this symbol of national unity embodies the stories of shujaas like Kurito. His is a tale of courage, patriotism, and redemption. Whenever we raise our flag, may we be reminded of heroes like Kurito Ole Kiso: a Kenyan whose blood was shed as he valiantly fought for our nation.