African Terror: Recalling Mau Mau

Last February, The Daily Mail ran a great article from an acitve participant's perspective during the infamous Mau Mau emergency that took place in Kenya during the 1950s. The participant and author, Tim Symonds, paints a candid and thoughtful picture that pulls no punches. In this modern era of hyper-sensitivity and revisionist inclination, finding someone who calls it as it actually happened is refreshing. The Mau Mau were one of Africa's ugliest and most brutal terrorist insurgencies. For anyone with any passing interest in African history, security, terrorism, decolonization, or justice, this article is a breath of fresh air and a must read.

Here are some excellent passages from Symonds recollection:


Criteria for being targeting by the Mau Mau.

"Leakey was selected not because he was an enemy of the Kikuyu but, perversely, because he was widely considered a good man and therefore a more powerful sacrificial offering. He even had a Kikuyu nickname - Morungaru - which means 'tall and straight'."

 On blending in.

"Their sense of smell from life in the forest had become so keen that they could smell my freshly-laundered clothes. Another white man arrived. 'OK, film star,' he said to me. 'I'm your make-up man.'
He painted potassium permanganate on my hands, face and neck to stain the skin. Then he produced a small tin of boot polish and a tiny watercolour brush. 'Let's start with your right eye,' he said. 'Open wide.'
He brushed a small blob of the boot polish right inside the eyelid. It stung and I shouted, prompting peals of laughter from the Mau Mau men. He held out a mirror and, blinking uncontrollably, I looked at my eye. The polish had spread across it, turning the whites a streaky yellow"

 Jomo Kenyatta and the sinister benefits of incarceration.

"A white police officer met me and told me I was to take charge of a Land Rover with an African driver, who would take me to a secret destination to deliver a cargo. I went outside and met the driver. Crates had been loaded in the back of the Land Rover, covered by a tarpaulin.
Some time later we arrived at our destination where I gave a white Kenya police officer the papers to sign for the cargo. He invited me in for a quick drink before I had to set off for home base. Afterwards I came out to find the Land Rover only three-quarters unloaded. The mysterious cargo turned out to be crate upon crate of Scotch whisky.
The police officer explained that Jomo Kenyatta, the man accused of masterminding the Mau Mau, was being held under close arrest nearby. Kenyatta was being provided with three bottles of Scotch every day, which he was consuming.
The real aim, the officer said, was for Kenyatta to die of cirrhosis of the liver as quickly as possible. I could tell he wasn't joking.
Kenyatta was nearing 70 at the time. Eight years later, in 1963, he was to become newly independent Kenya's first black prime minister. Shortly after that he became Kenya's president, famed for his flywhisk, the symbol of a Kikuyu elder, made from the end of a cow's tail. Perhaps we pickled him instead of killing him: Kenyatta lived until he was 89."

It's a spectacular and compelling tale.

Zulu - Final Attack - Great Scene

The werewolf didn't want to leave the few readers of this blog hanging after the powerful, but gloomy opening of the film Zulu, so above please find the famous last battle sequence. Although this portion of the Battle of Rorke's Drift is considered the most fictionalized part of the film, it is still poweful in conveying essence of what makes the battle so epic in the annals of military history. There is also something captivating about the two opposing forces dueling via song and chant that captures the humanity of this scene so well.

Here's a little trivia for the true film connoisseurs out there. You'll notice chant used by the Germanic tribes featured at the beginning of the film Gladiator is the exact same chant used by the Zulus. It's a neat tribute to Zulu.

Finally, for the audiophiles, get a taste of the score from Zulu here. Awesome.

This Day in History: Battle of Rorke's Drift and the opening scene of Zulu.

One of the greatest war film openings of all time somehow seems fitting. Today marks the 131st anniversary of the Battle of Rorke's Drift. It was one of the defining moments for both the British Empire, and some historians argue the west writ large. The werewolf is an unapologetic military and imperial history buff, and a huge fan a classic war films. Richard Burton's dour voice-over along with the scenes of the devastation of the annihilated British column pave the way to one of most timeless cinematic experiences out there. Not to mention, it was one of Michael Caine's breakout roles.

Imagine roughly 130 English soldiers at a trading post in the middle of hostile Zulu country, about forty of whom are wounded or ill, getting the news of the total annihilation of their main force a few miles away. On top of that bad news, they learn that 4000 Zulu's are bearing down on them and Zulu culture does not permit prisoners to be taken. They are low on ammunition, in a weak tactical position, and going up against an emboldened warrior nation that outnumbers them more than 35 to 1. Intense.

It many regards, Rorke's Drift is a Victorian era version of the Battle of Thermopylae. The legacy of the battle showed that extreme discipline and cohesion allowed the British to successfully repel enough Zulu assaults to allow time for reinforcements to arrive. A great moment in military history when David routes Goliath. Can you dig it? The werewolf sure as hell can.