For as long as Kenya has existed, Kenyans have resisted oppression. Oppression from colonizers and even from the African leaders who took over power from the colonial officers. Kenyans have had to fight tooth and nail for every single right that they currently enjoy. And yet despite the gains made such as gaining independence and ushering in the 2010 constitution, Kenyans find themselves still having to protest against economic oppression in 2024. It is as if the century-old battle for their land, resources and rights, is not yet over.
As the fight for true freedom continues, it is imperative for the Kenyans of today to remind themselves of the people of courage (shujaas) who have walked on this path before. To celebrate their courage of standing up when the odds were stacked against them, to marvel at the creativity and ingenuity that some of them used, and to also be encouraged and strengthened in hope by their unshakable belief that evil can be defeated.
One such shujaa, is Syotune wa Kathuke. Though not well known, she was among the first women in Kenya to form a resistance movement against the colonial rule. Her use of the spiritual and supernatural to mobilize people against the colonial government, remains something of a wonder to date.
Syotune wa Kathuke is believed to have been born in the mid-1800s in Machakos. She was from the Kamba community which in modern day Kenya, largely occupies Machakos, Makueni and Kitui Counties.. At the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th Century, the Kamba community, just like most of the other communities in what is now known as Kenya, were dispossessed of their fertile lands as British colonialism took root.
The Akamba people found themselves left with unfertile land to squeeze themselves into and their movement curtailed. Hitherto, they had depended on moving across expansive grazing lands depending on the season, to graze their cattle. But colonial rule put a stop to that while also confiscating some of their cattle. As for the remaining cattle, they now had to make do with tsetse fly infested grazing areas and limited water spots.
In addition, the British colonialists also introduced the mandatory hut and poll taxes that were punitive. This whole situation of having their land and cattle stolen while simultaneously being forced to pay taxes compelled Kamba men to work as laborers in the settlers’ farms for their own subsistence. At the settlers’ farms, the men were subjected to brutality in addition to hard labour.
One of the European Settlers in Mua Hills, Machakos, G.L Langridge, was so inhumane that the District Commissioner admonished him on various occasions, – something he ignored. He was renowned for being unscrupulous, arrogant and cruel. Langridge would prevent the Kamba people in the area from taking their cattle to their water spots while also grazing his stolen cattle on the small unproductive area set aside for the Africans. But this kind of conduct was not unique; another settler in the same area was known to supervise the laborers while shooting at them randomly. Some of the labourers died from the violence.
It is against this backdrop that Syotune wa Kathuke started organizing in Machakos and Kitui Districts. It is worth noting that there were several Kamba women leaders before her who had spoken about and against the white colonialists such as Syokimau and Syonguu. Therefore, it wasn’t strange for women to be leaders then.
In 1911, Syotune formed a women’s resistance movement to counter colonialism. By then Kambas were renowned for their spiritual and supernatural capabilities. Syotune herself was well versed in the performance of a dance called Kilumi. Kilumi was a sacred dance performed by women and accompanied by chants during exorcisms that could be done by men.
Syotune used this dance to form a resistance movement known as “ Ngoma ya Ngai”- The Dance of God, through which she mobilized women to resist the colonial rule. She was assisted by a man known as Kiamba.
Ngoma ya Ngai quickly got a large following spanning both Machakos and Kitui Districts. Syotune then formed a small army of women and mounted guards. They also had sentries and informants in villages who monitored those who were collaborating with colonial administrators.
With her forces in support, Syotune ordered people not to pay hut and poll taxes imposed by the colonial government. The people also refused to work as porters and laborers and demanded the return of their cattle and land.
Kiamba reinforced the movement’s ideas by telling people not to pay the white man’s taxes because the God of the Akamba had told him to tell them not to. He said that those who disobeyed the orders would have their houses swallowed up by the earth and a big sea would spring up where the houses had been.
It was at this point, two years later after the start of the movement, around 1913, when the colonial government realized that the Ngoma ya Ngai movement was becoming a serious threat to colonial rule. Their tax collection had drastically reduced and they were now facing a labour shortage in Ukambani areas.
But still, in an act of unfathomable courage, Syotune wa Kathuke mobilized the women and led them to the Machakos District Commissioner’s office where they performed a frenzied dance, uttering anti-colonial and anti-European statements.
The colonial government decided to quash the movement as it was an impediment to their rule. They thus sent troops to suppress Ngoma ya Ngai. Several leaders were arrested including Syotune wa Kathuke and Kiamba. The other leaders were taken to various detention centers, while Syotune and Kiamba were exiled to Kismayu. Syotune was detained there for two years before returning to her homeland.
With the movement being quashed, Kambas were forced to continue paying taxes and their livestock and land continued being confiscated.
But their resistance was not quashed, as the Kamba community found other ways to continue resisting the colonial government. They still withheld labour and still fought for their cattle, land and later independence. The Ngoma ya Ngai movement might have been stopped, but its spirit lives on.
Syotune’s movement is a stark reminder that women have always been an integral part of resistance movements in Kenya. Alongside her counterparts from other areas – Mekatilili wa Menza, Moraa Ng’iti and Muthoni Nyanjiru for example – they are beacons of hope for the younger generation that anyone, young or elderly, man or woman, can stand up and fight against oppression. May her story forever give hope to Kenyans even as new forms of oppression crop up. May it be a reminder to use what you have at hand, if they danced as a means of protest against taxation, who are we to cower at injustices?
