First Patriots paintballing game: Immerse yourself in Kenyan history

Have you ever wanted to attend an event but everything seems to be against you? Like the universe is not on your side? Like it just wants you to give up?

Let me explain.

The day before the First Patriots gaming experience by Sounds of Freedom, I caught it. Yes, the infamous Nairobi flu that had been going around in May 2022. I didn’t think I was going to make it.

So I weighed the pros and cons. 

Pros: This was going to be my first paintballing experience. I would learn more about the Mau Mau struggle for independence. And I would meet the Kenyan event organizers #networking!

Cons: I’d have to wake up as early as 7 am if I was to reach Karen by 9. And I am no mo(u)rning person. I would also have to spend my money on the ticket and transport. 

And finally, this flu was out to get me. What if I paid the 3,000 (sans the journalist discount) and wasn’t strong enough to attend the event? Would it all go to waste?

As I mentioned, all the odds were stacked against me. 

What would you do if you were in my shoes?

One lesson I have learnt in my almost 30 years of life experience is this: When things are not ideal, that’s when you should go for it. Resistance is sometimes a sign of good things to come.

And according to the astrologists, the new moon in Gemini’s message was to let go of the old and take up new opportunities.

So I took the leap.

Welcome to Waterfront

On Wednesday 1st June, I arrive at the Waterfront Karen at 1 pm. Don’t be alarmed, I didn’t miss my alarm; I was actually on time. My morning slot had been changed to the afternoon. 

It seems the universe was on my side.

Being my first time there, I take my sweet time walking around this shiny new mall. There’s a reason it’s called Waterfront. I walk around the lake, ask about the waterpark prices and imagine bringing my nephews and nieces here. They would love it!

Eventually, I land at the paintballing section on the farthest corner of the vast green field. I am welcomed by Mutana Wanjira (my contact) and Victor Ndisya (the producer). We hit it off like old friends.

They both studied journalism and became filmmakers. I almost tell them I studied IT. And became a journalist. What a world!

As soon as I finish eating my banana breakfast, they inform me it’s time for the audio film. I arrive at the mall right in time. An eager group of both children and adults are standing there with headphones on. I grab the last pair and put them on.

I first heard of Sounds of Freedom in 2021, when the Switcharoo Kenyan team came to Kilifi in October. All I knew is that it was an audio film about the struggle for independence in Kenya. I missed the season premiere at Alliance Francaise Nairobi on 21 and 22 October 2021, for obvious reasons.

On April 9th, I finally listened to snippets of it during Nairobi Design Week 2022 at Kazuri Beads Karen. 

Today, I am about to get the full deal.

Also, today is Madaraka Day. The coincidence is not lost.

The listening session

Once the film starts playing, we disperse and walk in different directions. It’s silent disco with wireless headphones. But walk too far and the signal is interrupted. 

Fatigued from the flu, I sit down on a marble bench nearby. Watch children playing in the water park, a white man kayaking on the green lake, and young college girls taking selfies. Directly under the sun, I need all the natural heat I can get If this cold is to dissipate. 

The only reason I managed to reach Karen is that I slept like I was in an oven last night.

As the sun rays hit my skin, the sounds of freedom seep into my ears. The year is 1951. Episode 1 begins in a forest with Kimani and Kariuki, two young men looking for somebody. They are tired and hungry and desperate. Beyond their breathy impatient voices, you can hear leaves rustling under their feet, eerie jungle sounds and bird calls. 

It’s like watching a film with your eyes closed.

They hear something in the trees. And they think they have found their mystery man. But they’re in for a surprise. It’s not him.

It’s Captain Mukami. Aka Dedan Kimathi’s wife.

The two young men wonder what a woman is doing in the forest. Isn’t their job to supply food and supplies to the actual Mau Mau freedom fighters?

In their brief yet tense interaction, gunfire erupts. An attack by the home guards.. Kariuki, the big-mouthed one, gets shot. Captain Mukami sacrifices herself so that Kimani can escape.

Wangari Maathai is not the first Kenyan heroine, I muse.

Kimani is riddled with guilt for leaving his fallen friend behind. But he still has a mission. To reach Batuni Square. And after treading in the thick dark forest for hours, he finally does. 

Yellow lamps reveal the Itungati singing and dancing and jumping in a circle. A community of young warriors hidden in the middle of the Mount Kirinyaga forest. Two of them fight in the middle and push each other with sticks. Preparing for war.

And then he appears. Dressed in leopard skin cape like a king. His long locks and possessed body move to the mwamburu dance inside the ring. This is him. The man who made him come all the way to the depths of the jungle.

Field Marshal Dedan Kimathi.

But Kimathi is not as excited to meet him. You are a spy, he accuses. Kimani denies. He explains he’s come all the way from the village so that he can join the Mau Mau freedom struggle. And how Mukami saved him from the homeguards. 

But Kimathi still doesn’t believe him. That is until the naïve youngster shares the passcode:

There are no bedbugs here.

After a wild hearty laugh, Kimathi finally welcomes him. The monologue that ensues is a mix of Kikuyu and English. Mbaara nî nginyu – war is inevitable, he urges the young warriors. Njamba wîkuo!

He explains there is a war between the Mau Mau freedom fighters and the home guards aka collaborators aka traitors. The white man uses the fear of pain to destroy. And because the traitors are afraid of pain, they comply so that they can get their daily bread (French speakers, get it?)

In order to become a Mau Mau warrior, you have to denounce everything made by the white man and embrace your African roots. So the young initiates are stripped of the white man’s clothes, money and kipande.

I wonder if this can work in 2022.

One of the initiates begins crying right before the oath ceremony. He’s made a mistake, he can’t do this. Dedan listens to the wimpering kid like a caring father. And then explains that Baba Kimathi cannot let him walk away when he already knows where their hidden base is. 

Take the oath, or die.

To make them immune to pain, Kimathi lashes their naked bodies with a whip. Over and over again. And they all take the oath. Of course, we don’t hear the actual oath, that’s top secret information.

If I betray the Mau Mau, may this oath kill me. 

After the oath ceremony, the new initiates feast on a slaughtered goat. Yes, nyama choma was reserved for ceremonies back then. With goat skin on their backs, they leave for Camp Freedom. And then the audio film ends. 

The Word is Spoken

But it’s not over yet. There’s an epilogue, a poetry piece spoken in Swahili and sheng. It’s complete with an acoustic music track and sound effects. 

A young Kenyan man is distressed about the past and current state of affairs. Hear what he says:

Mau Mau fought for the right thing. Then gave it to the wrong hands.

Silence is not a sign of peace. It’s a shout for oppression.

And something about the Chinese colonising Africa.

The Paintballing Experience

Once the one-hour Sounds of Freedom audio film is officially over, we walk back to the paintballing area. About 20 people show up, children included. I am impressed by the huge turnout, and so is Victor. This was their target.

We’re divided into 4 groups: 2 for Mau Mau and 2 for home guards. We’re selected at random. I’m Mau Mau, yes!

Since we’re in the second round, my comrades and I watch the first round get their training. And after watching them paintball for 15 minutes, I’m ready.

I wear my green overall with a brown camouflage chest guard. The home guards are in blue-black overalls with the chest guard turned around to the dark side. Just like their spirits. 

10 of us enter the paintballing area. It’s a large closed-off field complete with hills, tyres and drums. The perfect battleground. 

The referee shows us the rules of the game since most of us are first-timers. How to hold the gun and shoot. It’s never that serious, he repeats. Though his demeanour implies otherwise. 

Our stuntman Mickey is more carefree, reminding us to have fun. And move move move!

Adam of Afrika Design Week volunteers to be our captain. Field Marshal Adam. He also has a GoPro strapped to his helmet. We huddle together to design a quick strategy. Before we finish phase 1, the game starts. We scurry and position ourselves on our side of the field. 

Unlike the previous group of Mau Mau freedom fighters, I decide to be brave. I am fighting for my country. I advance forward, asking my comrades to back me up. I shoot a couple of home guards. How do I know? They run back to their flag at the end of their side.

Score!

But the world is a cycle. I get hit a few times too. As Aurie Musiq once said, Dunia Duara.

Still I can feel we’re doing well. Better than the first team. Until the referee tells one of my comrades to retreat. The game is over, I presume. 

But no. It turns out it’s because his paintballs are over. In my confusion, two home guards intrude on our side of the field. I can see them. I shoot at them. One of them hits me on the crack of my left elbow. It hurts, more than all the other shots combined. As I run towards our flag to renew my life, Adrian, also of Afrika Design Week, overtakes me.

Homeguards win. Again.

As we do an after-game discussion (soccer fans can relate), I see this as symbolic. Did the Mau Mau really win the war for independence? Or are we being self-ruled by the home guards?

I feel the paintballing experience would have been more relatable if we reenacted a scene in the audio film. Like the Mau Mau protecting initiates from being captured by the home guards. Or raiding their arsenal of weapons.

Still, I had fun. I gave it my all on the battlefield even with my body battling a cold. The adrenaline was real. I cannot wait for the next paintballing experience; Mutana mentions it will be at Two Rivers where they did the test experience a few weeks prior.

It’s a smaller space minus shrubs and hills and tyres. A dark hazy room with fewer hiding spots. A real challenge.

The brains behind Sounds of Freedom

Mutana is not who I expected. He is short, light-skinned and hilarious (which he jokes makes up for his height).

The Kenyan creative based between Paris and Nairobi created the audio film series with the help of Wasanii Waomoke 2021 fund by EUNIC (European Union National Institutes for Culture) and Alliance Francaise. With sufficient funds and facts, Mutana then enlisted the talent of a multidisciplinary team from all over Africa – from voice actors to scriptwriters.

Together, they created an immersive 3-episode audio film series that captures the lives of the young men and women who chose to fight for Kenya’s independence.

The Sounds of Freedom.

In episode 1, the two youngsters go deep into the forest to meet the legendary Dedan Kimathi and give their oath to join the Mau Mau army. Here’s a snippet of it.

Why create First Patriots?

On this 59th Madaraka Day, I also meet Malkia Hepzibah, the creative consultant of this collaboration project. I first knew of her through Switcharoo project between French and Kenyan artists in 2019. She and Mutana met in France.

According to Sounds of Freedom,

First Patriots is Kenya’s first live-action gaming experience based on historical events, and it is in response to our audiences’ need to rediscover their history and culture through gaming. This is an immersive paintball shooting game inspired by the story of Kenya’s fight for freedom.

While Mutana’s company African Fiction Academy was the think tank, Sounds of Freedom was the space to learn and create. And First Patriots was their first commercial project. Because they believe as creatives, we need to monetize our audience.

The First Patriots event teaser looks like an action movie trailer. No wonder Mutana and Victor are filmmakers.

What does freedom mean to you? According to Mutana’s interview on Afrika Design Week podcast, freedom is having no fear. Freedom is a state from oppression. And the first patriots fight for what they believe in.

Freedom is not a game.

The Forgotten Past

How well do you know the personal experiences of Mau Mau freedom fighters, and the history of Kenya’s first patriots?

The Sounds of Freedom team put up a bunch of information boards around the paintballing site. One thing I learned was that the British preferred to use the term Mau Mau instead of KLFA to deny the Mau Mau rebellion international legitimacy. But the freedom fighters preferred to call themselves the Kenyan Land and Freedom Army.

Dedan Kimathi was not the only Mau Mau leader. We forget Field Marshal Muthoni wa Kirima, the only woman to have attained the highest army rank. She started off by helping young initiates take the oath. But after being brutalized by the British, she joined her husband in the forest. And became a fearless fighter and leader etched in Kenyan history.

And in case you’re wondering, she’s the one who cut her six feet long dreadlocks on 4th April 2022 with the help of Mama Ngina Kenyatta. Why? To signify Kenya had finally gained independence.

But has it?

Another forgotten name in the Kenya Land and Freedom Army is Field Marshal Musa Mwariama. According to Wikipedia, “Musa Mwariama was a Kenyan revolutionary leader of the Mau Mau in Meru, the highest-ranking Mau Mau leader who survived the war without being killed or captured.”

You’ve probably seen that famous photo of him and Jomo Kenyatta shot in 1963, featuring his bloodshot suspecting eyes. 

The Meru leader died in 1989 after sucking snake poison from his friend. Yup. He died a hero. 

Unfair disadvantage

The KLFA with such fearless leaders was strong and formidable. They managed to terrorize the British colonialists from 1952 to 1959 during the state of emergency in Kenya. 

But they had an unfair disadvantage.

In 1953, the British assembled the home guards made up of tribal police and loyalist Kikuyu leaders. And armed them with shotguns and uniforms to fight against their own people. In 1954, at its peak, the Kikuyu Guard consisted of more than 25,000 men. 

In short, the Mau Mau were outnumbered and outweaponed. The Lari Massacre where Mau Mau fighters attacked the loyalists was nothing compared to what the Johnnies did to them in retaliation.

Did you know 1.5 million Kenyans were kept in concentration camps and protected villages?
160,000 Kenyans were detained in appalling conditions
and 90,000 Kenyans were executed, tortured or maimed during the Mau Mau crackdown?

And while 11,000 Mau Mau freedom fighters fell in war, only 32 white settlers were killed in 8 years of state of emergency.

Facts they don’t teach you in Kenyan history class.

The Future

The first First Patriots experience proved that young Kenyans are interested in learning Kenyan history in an fresh engaging way. We listened to the Mau Mau oath ceremony, played an intense paintballing session, and basked in the African sun. The perfect way to spend Madaraka Day.

So what next?

The two other episodes are ready for our edutainment. During Mashujaa Day Weekend in October 2022, Sounds of Freedom Africa offered group bookings to experience episode 2 plus an fun paintballing game at Two Rivers Mall.

And one year after the first paintballing experience, they hosted an immersive audio film experience in the breathtaking Karura Forest. Each Sunday of June 2023, young Kenyans experienced a guided tour of the iconic forest while listening to episode 1.

No worries if you missed it. You can follow the movement at Sounds of Freedom Africa website to find out about their next audio film listening session and paintballing game. And rediscover Kenyan history in a new immersive way. Even if you have a nasty cold.

So, are you a First Patriot?

Images by Sounds of Freedom Africa

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