Nairobi — The widow of Dedan Kimathi, Kenya's revered freedom fighter is dead.

Mukami Kimathi died on Thursday night at the Nairobi Hospital aged 101, according to state broadcaster KBC is quoting her daughter Everlyne.

Everlyne said her mother was rushed to hospital on Thursday night when she experienced difficulties in breathing.

Until her death, Mukami has been advocating for the exhumation of the remains of her husband from Kamiti Maximum Prison to be buried at his home.

Official government records show that Kimathi was captured by the colonial administration in 1956 at Kahigaini in the Aberdare ranges and executed in 1957 in Kamiti Prison.

"I do not want to die before being shown the exact place where my husband was buried. I want to see the remains of my Kimathi before I go. I do not have long to live and this matter has been a thorn in my flesh," Mukami said in a recent media interview.

The search for the remains of the patriarch started as far back as 1980s when the family petitioned the State to help them locate it in what attracted global attention. and several stated including Argentina offered to help.

"I want to be shown my husband's grave. I want to know where he was buried. No one knows where my Kimathi was buried except the British government and I want President William Ruto and King Charles to intervene in this matter," Mukami told the media late last year.

Kimathi, born Kimathi wa Waciuri, was a senior military and spiritual leader of the Mau Mau uprising who led the armed struggle against the British colonial regime in Kenya in the 1950's until 1956 when he was captured and executed a year later. He is believed to have been born in 1920.

[This article has been edited with Mukami's correct age of 101 years].