The Immortals: The spirited resistance of the Waiyakis

Wambui Waiyaki Otieno was a firebrand feminist politician Photo: Courtesy

Waiyaki Way in Westlands, Nairobi was the route Chief Waiyaki wa Hinga used as he was escorted, chained and bruised, to Kibwezi. This was after he was found guilty and order issued that he be ‘deported’ from Dagoretti in August 1892.

Waiyaki wa Hinga had mounted a spirited resistance against British occupation of Kikuyu land beyond agreed acreage, which led the Kikuyu to point at odieros erecting military camps there and say: “ndagurite,” which literally means, “he has not bought.” This was later corrupted to ‘Dagoretti.’