Did You Know Kinjekitile Ngwale Died Before the Maji Maji War Fully Started?

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Yes, it’s true.

Kinjekitile Ngwale, the man who organized the Maji Maji Rebellion, was killed by the Germans in August 1905, few weeks after the fighting began.

You might think that once the leader died, the fight would stop.

But it didn’t.

The war went on for two more years.

It spread across southern Tanzania and involved over 20 different tribes.

This leaves us with a big question:

What did Kinjekitile plant?

He planted an idea.

  • An idea very powerful, that it gave people courage to fight a fearsome enemy.
  • An idea that made many different tribes come together as one nation.
  • An idea that scared the German colonial rulers.

What Was the Maji Maji Rebellion?

The Maji Maji Rebellion was a war fought by Africans in German East Africa (now Tanzania) between 1905 and 1907.

People were angry because the Germans:

  • Forced them to grow cotton instead of food crops.

  • Took their land by force.

  • Were harsh and brutal; they used violence and punishment. Even the elders were flogged in public.

  • Disrespected local traditions handed down by elders.

After going through all these, when Kinjekitile Ngwale stood up and told people to resist, they did not hesitate.


"The Magic Water (Maji)."

Kinjekitile claimed he had been possessed by a spirit called Hongo.

He gave people a special mixture called maji (Swahili for “water”).

He said this water would protect them from German bullets, it would turn them into water.

Many believed him. They drank the maji, sprinkled it on their bodies and gained confidence and assertiveness.

Even though the maji didn’t actually stop bullets, it gave people spirit, courage and unity, things that were more powerful than guns.


For the first time he managed to unite many tribes.

Before Kinjekitile, most tribes lived separately and sometimes fought one another.

But he did something clever and wise; through his intelligence, more than 20 different tribes joined the fight. Something very rare among the African societies.

This shocked the Germans, who were used to ruling over divided people.


In August 1905, the Germans arrested and executed Kinjekitile. They thought that killing him would stop the rebellion.

But they were wrong. The movement kept growing. People attacked German stations, burned cotton farms, and freed other villages.

Leaders like Bokero and Chief Mputa carried on the fight.


The German Response

The Germans were scared and angry. They used an ultimate strategy to crush the rebellion completely 'The scorched earth'.

They:

  • Burned entire villages.

  • Destroyed food crops.

  • Poisoned wells.

  • Blocked food supplies.

This caused hunger and outbreak of disease.

It is estimated that over 250,000 Africans died, not just from bullets but from starvation and disease.

Lions and Hyenas fed on the dead; there were so many dead bodies, and people were too scared or weak to bury them.

This shows how brutal and terrible the war truly was.


Kinjekitile's Legacy.

Even though Kinjekitile died early, his message still inspires Tanzania today.

He is remembered as a hero in Tanzanian history. 

Educational infrastructures have been named after him, example the Kinjekitile Secondary School in Dar es Salaam.

Every day, students walk past his name, learn his story, and remember the courage he planted.

In other parts of Tanzania like Lindi, Kilwa, and Mtwara, his name appears on:

  • Roads,

  • Government buildings and

  • Historical monuments.

Kinjekitile showed that the fight for freedom starts with belief, and belief is stronger than fear.

Kinjekitile Ngwale didn’t live to see the end of the war, but what he planted was bigger than a battle:

  • A belief in freedom

  • A call for unity

  • The dream of a free Africa

Even though lions fed on the bodies of the fallen freedom fighters, and the Germans thought they had crushed the rebellion, Kinjekitile’s spirit lived on.

And it still does, in schools, in books, in streets, and in the hearts of Tanzanians.


Related topics:

Lessons people of Tanganyika drew from majimaji uprising

https://historyforumtz.blogspot.com/2020/05/show-lessons-tanganyikans-drew-from.html


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