General Kubu Kubu, born Njagi wa Ikutha, was a Mau Mau leader. His nom de guerre, Kubu Kubu, means "heavy thud" and was coined from the thud his feet made because of his heavy build. Kubu Kubu (or Kubukubu) was the de facto leader of the Mau Mau Uprising battalion within the Embu country. He was also one of the leaders of Mau Mau in Kenya, alongside Dedan Kimathi, Musa Mwariama, and Waruhiu Itote, alias General China. Kubu Kubu was revered by people across Embu and feared by colonialists. He successfully led the community for more than 10 years in defending their land and families from colonial aggression. While colonial settlers carved out African lands across Kenyan highlands for themselves, they were repulsed in Embu. Early life Kubu Kubu was born Njagi wa Ikutha in the late 1920s in a heavily forested area in Mukuuri next to the current site of the Kubu Kubu Memorial Boarding Primary School, Embu County. Like many families from the pre-independence Mukuuri Native Reserve, Njagi's family later settled in the Kianjokoma area after independence. Mau Mau Years During his time as Embu's independence war leader in the 1950s, General Kubu Kubu operated from Kirimiri Forest Hill, in Mũkũũrî sub-location. He spent days in the caves and nights leading attacks on colonial outposts. The heavily forested hill has an elevation of 1520 meters above sea level. In the case of an attack by the colonialists, fighters could light a fire and smoke would be seen billowing on top of the hill to act as a warning that the enemy was nearby. He successfully raided colonial outposts in Embu and collected guns distributed to the fighters. During his reign, Kubu Kubu allowed schools to operate. Thus many old schools in Embu, including Kangaru, Kigari, and Muragari, still operated as the war was fought. Around 1955, a breakaway group of Kikuyu and Meru Mau Mau fighters betrayed their Embu counterparts and stole many of their guns. The Embu fighters were forced to use the few remaining guns, and pangas and other crude weapons. In his book, "Mau Mau" General (East African Publishing House), General Itote writes how Kubu Kubu ruled that traitors must be dealt with ruthlessly. Kubu Kubu told Kimathi, Itote and other key leaders that not even women and children would be spared, if they were found to be colonial collaborators. At this point, a trap