The name is absent

oathɪng. Although these points of view are not representative of the wide range of
thinking about the Mau Mau oath, they do represent important aspects. In 1963
Josiah Kariuki initiated the Mau Mau oath dialogue from an insider perspective in
his memoir, Mau Mau Detainee. Then in 1966 two important writings surfaced:
Donald Barnett and Karari Njama’s book, Mau Mau from Within, and Carl
Rosberg and John Nottingham’s study, The Myth of “Mau Mau”: Nationalism in
Kenya. Both presented new interpretations and angles on the topic. They were
followed by Waruhiu Itote in Mau Mau in Action. In the 1970s the firsthand
account of the Mau Mau fighter, Henry Kahinga Wachanga in The Swords of
Kirinyaga, also offered insight into the inner workings of Mau Mau. These
selected works collectively gave new details and depth to the discussion and
some provided a much needed African narrative to understand the Mau Mau
oath.

Perspectives OfJosiah Kariuki

Josiah Kariuki gave his personal memoir of the meaning and significance
of Mau Mau in his 1963 book, Mau Mau Detainee. In this work, the author
argues that there was another real side of the Mau Mau story that needed to be
revealed, one through the perspective of the detention camps. Kariuki’s aim was
to restore the voices of those that were locked inside of the prisons so that their
struggles were not forgotten. In his view, the public needed to know the truth
about the horrible treatment that Africans experienced in the camps. Kariuki
holds in his book that Mau Mau was a “movement of unity and that the (members

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