Dedan Kimathi Wachiuri was a leader of the Mau Mau uprising against the British colonial government in Kenya in the 1950s. However, Kimathi was captured and hanged by the colonial government at the height of Kenya’s freedom struggle, and his grave at the Kamiti Prison has never been identified.

Fifty years down the line, and he still stands defiant with a rifle in the right hand and a dagger in the left. He is clothed in the same military uniform as the British soldiers that he fought, a tribute to the time he served in the imperialist army. His hair twisted in dreadlocks crown his head with rebellion. The polished concrete statue is overcome with rough tones and texture with grit as its medium.

The sculpture stands on a pedestal placed in the middle of the junction of Kimathi Street and Mama Ngina Street, isolating it amidst the city traffic.