Nairobi — Field Marshal Muthoni Wa Kirima, one of the leading agitators in Kenya anti-colonial fight, is dead.

Muthoni, who fought alongside her husband Field Marshall Dedan Kimathi Wachiuri, the overall leader of the Mau Mau movement, died aged 92.

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua who identifies as "a son of Mau Mau" announced Muthoni's death on Tuesday.

"I join her family and descendants of the Mau Mau war of Liberation in mourning the loss of our Mother Field Marshall Muthoni wa Kirima," he said.

"We recall with pride and sheer admiration, her exploits in leading the land and freedom army after the capture of freedom hero Dedan Kimathi whom she served as his personal assistant, after he was betrayed by Collaborators," Gachagua recollected.

The DP said the government will remain indebted to great Mau Mau heroes and heroines for the sacrifice to liberate the country.

Muthoni made headlines in the period leading to the 2022 General Election when she shaved her dreadlocks that represented her connection to Kenya's freedom and her rejection of colonization, in the company for Mama Ngina Kenyatta, the spouse of Kenya's founding leader Mzee Jomo Kenyatta .

She said the signature dreadlocks that flowed past her waist, which she had kept since 1952, were a valuable reminder of her sacrifice for the country even after Kenya gained independence in 1963.

Muthoni was born in Central Province in 1931.