Mrs Kimathi's family told local media that she developed breathing problems on Thursday night and was taken to a hospital in the capital, Nairobi, where she died shortly after.

Her husband, who was the leader of the Mau Mau uprising, was captured, tried and executed by the British colonial government in 1956. He was buried at the Kamiti prison on the outskirts of the city.

On Friday, Kenya’s President William Ruto paid tribute to Mrs Kimathi for having “courageously withstood the brutality of colonial oppression, proudly wore the scars of the battle and bore the terrible losses of war with admirable fortitude”.

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua described her as “the mother of our liberation struggle and a beacon of hope surrounding the freedom fighters and their descendants”.

In her life, she pushed discussions about the welfare of freedom fighters - who did not enjoy the benefits of the sacrifice they made for Kenya's independence.

In January, she was barred from leaving a hospital where she had been admitted after her family was unable to clear the bills - which was seen as an indication of the poverty that freedom fighters had to endure. She was discharged later after the president cleared the $7,300 (£5,800) bill.

She had also been pushing for the exhumation of the remains of her husband from prison to be reburied at his home.

However, the years-long search for the exact spot where he was buried has been futile – despite Mrs Kimathi expressing her wish to be shown the grave before her death.