Testament

From 1885-1963 the British ruled Kenya and inflicted a regime that saw Kenyans kicked off their land and enslaved. As resistance grew in the 1950's, the British threw over a million Kenyans into concentration camps, starving, torturing and killing thousands. In 1963, Kenya won its independence, but the freedom fighters did not see their land returned. They were left destitute - a situation that persists today. Now, people want justice. Not just for past colonial atrocities. They want to reclaim their history. And their land. One woman, Wanjugu Kimathi, is leading this fight. Testament tells her story. Wanjugu is an airport customer-care representative, with three grown children. She also has a special inheritance. Her father, Dedan Kimathi, was the legendary leader of the resistance (the Mau Mau), who inspired anti-colonial movements worldwide. In 1957, the British hanged him and secretly dumped his body, the whereabouts never made public. Since then his wife Mukami, Wanjugu's mother, has been searching for his remains to give him a proper burial, but is now to frail to continue. Wanjugu steps up to take over her quest. Wanjugu first visits her parents' former comrades. They point her to secret mass graves near old concentration camps. Shocked to see these graves, Wanjugu resolves to get them exhumed and the bodies identified. She goes to the Kenya Human Rights Commission seeking support, and meets lawyer, Faith Alubbe, who shares Wanjugu's desire to expose this hidden history. They travel the country, unearthing more sites, gathering people's stories. They find that people are unified in one demand: that the land stolen from them be returned; without it, they cannot survive. Deeply moved, this is Wanjugu's turning point. Her personal mission expands and she transforms into a powerful advocate, pursuing the exhumation of graves while championing land return for those dispossessed. Her supporters grow from 5000 to 20,000 in less than a year. However, she soon encounters daunting opposition. Powerful corporate and governmental figures who benefitted from the British regime are threatened by the concealed histories that Wanjugu wishes to expose. They are vehemently opposed to any land return to ancestral owners. We follow Wanjugu as events unfold. Everything is at stake. Will Wanjugu succeed in finding her father's remains? Will she be able to gain land resettlement for the Mau Mau families? Or will she be thwarted by those who want to keep this history buried and their power intact?