He was the commander of the Mau Mau forces in the forests of the Aberdares, the most feared guerrilla fighter in Kenya. On 21 October 1956, Dedan Kimathi was captured by Kikuyu tracker Ndirangu Mau working with the British. He had a bullet in his leg. He was tried, convicted and hanged on 18 February 1957. He was 37 years old. The British buried him in an unmarked grave at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison. Kenya would spend decades trying to find his remains. His story has been told in plays, films and books. He became, in death, what he was in life: a symbol of defiance.