Stanley Mathenge wa Mirugi (born c. 1919; disappeared 1955) was a Kenyan military leader during the Mau Mau rebellion.
Background He was born in Mahiga, Nyeri District.
Before the Mau Mau rebellion, he had fought in Burma. Later he became the leader of the Forty Group, an organisation supporting the Kenya African Union (KAU). He also founded the Kenya Riigi, a group of courageous fighters. Mathenge believed in the traditional Kikuyu religion.Marshall S. Clough: Mau Mau memoirs: history, memory, and politics Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1998. In May 1953 he became the leader of the newly formed Mau Mau military unit Nyeri District Council and Army.Abiodun Alao & Christa Hook: Mau-Mau warrior Osprey Publishing, 2006. His rivalry with field marshal Dedan Kimathi harmed the integrity of the Mau Mau movement.Robert M. Press: Peaceful resistance: advancing human rights and democratic freedoms.Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2006.
Disappearance He disappeared in 1955 and was later reported to be allegedly living in Ethiopia.Carole Cooper, J. R. A. Bailey & Garth Bundeh: Kenya: The National Epic. Kenway Publications, 1993 Mathenge left with his battalion to Ethiopia where he is said to have died in 2016. His brother, Joseph Kiiru Mirugi, died in 2009 in Mahiga, Othaya and his wife, Muthoni wa Mathenge, is still alive and resides in Mweiga, Nyeri. One prevailing conspiracy theory is that he was killed in his power rivalry with Kimathi, who then made up the story that Mathenge had gone to Ethiopia to seek assistance from Haile Selassie.
Later events On May 30, 2003 a man believed to be Stanley Mathenge, living in Ethiopia, was invited to Kenya by president Mwai Kibaki and was given a hero's welcome by the state. It was soon revealed that the man was Ato Lemma Ayanu, who himself denied being Mathenge.BBC News, May 31, 2003: Doubt cast on Mau Mau hero A DNA test published four years later proved he was not Mathenge.Daily Nation, October 18, 2007: Ayanu Fake, DNA Shows
See also List of people who disappeared
References