Mekatilili Wa Menza

Who is Mekatilili Wa Menza?

Mekatilili Wa Menza was a Kenyan woman leader, who led the Giriama people in a rebellion against the British Colonial Administration and policies actively in 1913 - 1914. The Giriama people are a subgroup of Mijikenda peoples who inhabit the Kenyan coast; they had sacred dwelling places called kayas, located in forested areas, one of which the British Colonial Administration destroyed by dynamiting it in 1914. This was Kaya Fungo.

Mekatilili was captured by the British and exiled to Mumias in Western Province. According to British colonial records, five years later, she returned to her native area where she continued to oppose the imposition of Colonial policies and ordinances.

She died in 1914, and was buried in Bungale Sub-location, in Magarini Constituency, Malindi District.