In May 2020, several states in the United States took part in violent protests after the brutal murder of George Floyd by a police officer.
One leader of such protests, Dedan Waciuri, who is named after Kenyan freedom hero Dedan Kimathi Waciuri, was nabbed by the authorities in Greenville, North Carolina.
He was subsequently accused of damaging government property as well as inciting riots.
After his arrest, a series of protests erupted across the state with many demanding that the US authorities drop the charges against him on the basis that he was fighting for the common good of Black Americans.
According to numerous outlets, Waciuri has been leading protests for several years fighting for an end to police violence.
The activist has been looking at the establishment of a police accountability mechanism for many years.
"Dedan is a well-respected leader in the community and with his mother has been a social justice, labor rights, and anti-racist organizer in Greenville since he was a youth.
"Because he is well known, the authorities want to shut down his work on behalf of his community," read a statement from Black Workers for Justice (BWFJ), an organisation formed in 1981 to fight race and gender description.
Waciuri, activism works is in-born since he was raised in the struggle by his mother who doubles up as a Greenville organizer, Willie Carol Roberts.
Dedan was inspired by his mother's involvement in the Black Workers for Justice and the Coalition Against Racism. He has participated in community organizing for nine years.
The organisation he is involved in, including BWFJ, the fight for affordable housing, a civilian police review board, and an end to police brutality.
He also serves as the Organising Project Manager of North Carolina Environmental Justice Network.
On the fateful day in May 2020, Waciuri was among the speakers at a crowd of 300 about the overwhelming police presence in the majority of black and brown communities here in Greenville. The team was protesting the murder of Breonna Taylor as well as that of Floyd.
The please responded with violent use of tear gas against protestors before arresting some of the attendees.
His namesake, Dedan Kimathi Waciuri, was a respected freedom hero who led the Mau Mau, a Kenyan armed independence movement. He is regarded as a revolutionary leader.
Born in 1931, Kimathi was captured in 1956 after a manhunt by British Intelligence Officer and executed in February 1957. Kimathi Street in Nairobi CBD is named in his honour.
