Kenya Mourns a Humming Bird

It is a cloudy day in Nairobi and it has been for the last few days following the unfortunate death of Wangari Maathai, the flags lie low following the presidents announcement shortly after her demise that she will receive a state burial. She was the vox populi, a political activist and the world’s most celebrated personality when it came to environment preservation and human rights. From fairly humble beginnings, she rose to become an avante garde environmentalist, First African woman to receive a Nobel Peace Laureate, First East African woman to get a Phd as well establishing the Green Belt movement Foundation that seeks to conserve bio-diversity in Kenya. Wangari Maathai was a fighter; she survived a dictatorial regime that endeared to silence her dissent and her calls for gender equality. She went out of her way to protect the environment and struggled to protect ‘the fate of the species'. In her speech in Oslo, Norway after she was awarded the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize she denounced the use of a wooden coffin for the departed and it is there that her last wishes were written. Coming from a continent that is wrought with the scourge of HIV and AIDs, she called for an alternative to the usage of wooden coffins as it is not sustainable comparing to the amount of lives being lost on a daily basis. Her biggest achievement was the endless campaign she waged against anthropocentric views that has inspired many all over the globe. In her words, she will continue to become a humming bird and inspire so many for a long time to come. Her smile will forever be cherished and remain in people’s mind for the generations to come. She left us with a huge responsibility, and that is to continue fighting for her soul so that it can stay with us forever. Africa has been placed on a pedestal thanks to her achievements and beliefs, we now have to carry her torch and let it light even during the darkest of times like now when she is not with us. Even though it was sad to see her precious smoke rising above us as she was cremated, we are glad that her wishes were honored.

Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori,

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