To most people, Dedan Kimathi, the man who led the Mau Mau movement in Kenya’s forests in the 1950s to win freedom from the British Empire, has remained a shadowy and enigmatic figure. Attempts to portray his heroic and fascinating life have produced varying results, ranging from historical distortion to artistic idealism.

In this documentary novel, the author, after detailed research, gives us a fresh and convincing portrait of the Mau Mau hero along with his followers, both men and women. For the first time, we have a credible flesh-and-blood Kimathi, capable of laughter, anger and love, and who evokes in us not only admiration and sympathy, but also anger and disappointment.