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Why Kenyans online are loving this independence video


A never-seen before video of the late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta and a Meru Mau Mau general has excited Kenyans online.

In the video, little-known General Musa Mwariama, who appears to be high, opens his eyes wide as Kenyatta explains how he was happy to see the fighter.

The general was among the Mau Mau fighters who left the forest after surviving the war without being tortured or killed.

None of his troops was killed.

In the video, a confused Mwariama looks on as Kenyatta addresses foreign press on how happy the fighters were, after the country attained independence.

While Kenyatta speaks fluent English, the general converses in Kimeru with the founding president, a Kikuyu, acting as an interpreter.

The general at some point retrieves two small Kenyan flags and asks Kenyatta to bless them.

It is a video that best exhibits the different fates of independence heroes.

While Kenyatta went on to be the head of state and left vast wealth to his family, General Mwariama died in abject poverty in Ukambani after trying to suck venom from a man who had been bitten by a snake.

The video that was shared by @HistoryKE was retweeted more than 1,500 times as users sought more information about the general.