By Wanderi wa Kamau
WANGARI MATHAI: IN MEMORY OF A HERO WHO DIED IN SOCIETAL OBLIVION
Wangari Maathai's death echoes mixed things.Majorly,it echoes a prophet doomed and an unsung at home,an unrecognized hero and a disillusioned activist.
From the times of hunger strike for the release of political prisoners during the Moi regime in 1991,the Karura Forest agitation and a junior cabinet post undeserved for a world-acclaimed hero in the Ministry of Forestly and Wildlife,Wangari was seemingly a world icon but not a Kenyan heroine.
She had no place in the Kenyan history.She created an unending antagony with the ruling elite for her outspokenness and tenacity in agitation of the preservation of our indigenous forests and opposition of the shamba system.
But she is not alone.After independence,the Mau Mau fighters who dedicated their lives for thee redemption of their country from the colonial barbarism and atrocity have followed the same path.Reportedly,the British government gave out large amounts of money as compensation to Mau Mau freedom fighters to the immediate post-independent government-but all this fell prey to a paternalistic gluttonous and bureaucratic clique that took over government at the time.
The post-independence trend became a game-changer.The colonial loyalists amassed wealth at the expense of the real Mau Mau freedom fighters were subjected to an untold misery.The post-independence ruling clique grabbed large tracts of land as they were in the full control of the country.Right now ,the bulk of squatters in this country are those who lost their loved ones and sustained life-time injuries in quest for a just and free country.The recent trend of deaths regarding Mau Mau veterans deaths' is a clear indication of this.They have been reduced to mere beggars in a country they dedicatively fought for.
The Kapenguria Six is yet another example.Some freedom heroes like Bildad Kaggia,Paul Ngei among others when they chose to contradict with the 'manipulative and exploitative' policies were they were reduced to mere beggars and paupers.
The case of whistle blowers such as JM Kariuki is an indication of an ill-willed post-independence proletariat.He brutally paid the price of being the voice of the voiceless.
Luckilly for Wangari.They did not maim her physically.After the independence dissilusionment of the Mau Mau dream,the Moi era was another regime that idolized mythopoeic incarnation of powre,which had the effects up to the academic field.What happened to literary gurus of the time:Ngugi wa Thiong'o,Ngugi wa Mirii,Micere Githae Mugo among others?It was in 1977 when the Kenyatta regime banned the acting of the 'Ngaahika Ndeenda' play which aimed to open the citizenry on the ills of the government of the day.
Moi choose to 'follow the footsteps'.Like Rehoboam in the Bible,Moi perpetuated dangeros re-institutionalization of autocratic and authoritarian regime-opening more room to outspokenness to his critics.This acceleration of authoritarianism erupted to the 1082 coup.The educated elites resultantly became his greatest enemies-fleeing to foreign countries,seeking political asylum.
In essence,Kenya's governance system have opted to shatter the dreams of of acclaimed heroes,visionary personalities and perpetuate the power of the dominant class.
While Wangari stood for the liberalization of the political arena,being a 2nd liberation heroine the Nyayo regime used every means to cool down but remained adamant.She lived her dream.
Its a country of ironies.Wangari was also actively involved in the efforts to reclaim the lost African Culture.She crusaded for the indigenisation of the Gikuyu culture through her yearly visits and funding of the preservation of the Mukurwe wa Nyagathanga-an area famed as the genesis of the Gikuyu community.
Her immense contribution to the alteration and mainstreaming of the governance process in the African continent is insurmountable.Her book, The African Challenge, seek to challenge deradicalisation and embourgeoisement which have worked to the detriment of those already disadvantaged.
Prof.Maathai stood to her principles.While she sided with the opposition in the 2005 referundum,many of the Kikuyus,especially Central Kenya MPs,perpetuated the rhetoric of Wangari's traitorship to 'the community by co-perating with the outsiders'.The rhetoric was successful.She was at the side she thought was the best-not for the welfare of her backyards (Nyeri or Tetu) but for the advancement of her vision for a dream to improve the livelihoods of millions through a safe biodiversity which she constantly agitated for.
While the new constitution seek to address the plights of the marginalized and forgotten in the society,let those who have given Kenya a place in the global radar be recognized.It is very dad when our own heroes are celebrated abroad while they remin as outcasts in Kenya.
Our scholars have earned thousands of accolades outside Kenya,but we are yet to recognize them and their immense contribution to Kenya's welfare.Ngugi wa Thiong'o is a global icon who recenly missed by a whisker to win the Nobel Award for his contribution in the literary world over the decades,but he remains an enemy of the very own people and the country he constantly advocates for.
He has been a champion of the indigenisation of African languages but..we view him a retrogressive scholar whose arguments are outdated and impossible.To date,his marauding intruders,ready to pounce on him are there.
Kenya,Kenyans,lets change this culture.
Rest in peace Prof.Wangari.
WANGARI MATHAI: IN MEMORY OF A HERO WHO DIED IN SOCIETAL OBLIVION
Wangari Maathai's death echoes mixed things.Majorly,it echoes a prophet doomed and an unsung at home,an unrecognized hero and a disillusioned activist.
From the times of hunger strike for the release of political prisoners during the Moi regime in 1991,the Karura Forest agitation and a junior cabinet post undeserved for a world-acclaimed hero in the Ministry of Forestly and Wildlife,Wangari was seemingly a world icon but not a Kenyan heroine.
She had no place in the Kenyan history.She created an unending antagony with the ruling elite for her outspokenness and tenacity in agitation of the preservation of our indigenous forests and opposition of the shamba system.
But she is not alone.After independence,the Mau Mau fighters who dedicated their lives for thee redemption of their country from the colonial barbarism and atrocity have followed the same path.Reportedly,the British government gave out large amounts of money as compensation to Mau Mau freedom fighters to the immediate post-independent government-but all this fell prey to a paternalistic gluttonous and bureaucratic clique that took over government at the time.
The post-independence trend became a game-changer.The colonial loyalists amassed wealth at the expense of the real Mau Mau freedom fighters were subjected to an untold misery.The post-independence ruling clique grabbed large tracts of land as they were in the full control of the country.Right now ,the bulk of squatters in this country are those who lost their loved ones and sustained life-time injuries in quest for a just and free country.The recent trend of deaths regarding Mau Mau veterans deaths' is a clear indication of this.They have been reduced to mere beggars in a country they dedicatively fought for.
The Kapenguria Six is yet another example.Some freedom heroes like Bildad Kaggia,Paul Ngei among others when they chose to contradict with the 'manipulative and exploitative' policies were they were reduced to mere beggars and paupers.
The case of whistle blowers such as JM Kariuki is an indication of an ill-willed post-independence proletariat.He brutally paid the price of being the voice of the voiceless.
Luckilly for Wangari.They did not maim her physically.After the independence dissilusionment of the Mau Mau dream,the Moi era was another regime that idolized mythopoeic incarnation of powre,which had the effects up to the academic field.What happened to literary gurus of the time:Ngugi wa Thiong'o,Ngugi wa Mirii,Micere Githae Mugo among others?It was in 1977 when the Kenyatta regime banned the acting of the 'Ngaahika Ndeenda' play which aimed to open the citizenry on the ills of the government of the day.
Moi choose to 'follow the footsteps'.Like Rehoboam in the Bible,Moi perpetuated dangeros re-institutionalization of autocratic and authoritarian regime-opening more room to outspokenness to his critics.This acceleration of authoritarianism erupted to the 1082 coup.The educated elites resultantly became his greatest enemies-fleeing to foreign countries,seeking political asylum.
In essence,Kenya's governance system have opted to shatter the dreams of of acclaimed heroes,visionary personalities and perpetuate the power of the dominant class.
While Wangari stood for the liberalization of the political arena,being a 2nd liberation heroine the Nyayo regime used every means to cool down but remained adamant.She lived her dream.
Its a country of ironies.Wangari was also actively involved in the efforts to reclaim the lost African Culture.She crusaded for the indigenisation of the Gikuyu culture through her yearly visits and funding of the preservation of the Mukurwe wa Nyagathanga-an area famed as the genesis of the Gikuyu community.
Her immense contribution to the alteration and mainstreaming of the governance process in the African continent is insurmountable.Her book, The African Challenge, seek to challenge deradicalisation and embourgeoisement which have worked to the detriment of those already disadvantaged.
Prof.Maathai stood to her principles.While she sided with the opposition in the 2005 referundum,many of the Kikuyus,especially Central Kenya MPs,perpetuated the rhetoric of Wangari's traitorship to 'the community by co-perating with the outsiders'.The rhetoric was successful.She was at the side she thought was the best-not for the welfare of her backyards (Nyeri or Tetu) but for the advancement of her vision for a dream to improve the livelihoods of millions through a safe biodiversity which she constantly agitated for.
While the new constitution seek to address the plights of the marginalized and forgotten in the society,let those who have given Kenya a place in the global radar be recognized.It is very dad when our own heroes are celebrated abroad while they remin as outcasts in Kenya.
Our scholars have earned thousands of accolades outside Kenya,but we are yet to recognize them and their immense contribution to Kenya's welfare.Ngugi wa Thiong'o is a global icon who recenly missed by a whisker to win the Nobel Award for his contribution in the literary world over the decades,but he remains an enemy of the very own people and the country he constantly advocates for.
He has been a champion of the indigenisation of African languages but..we view him a retrogressive scholar whose arguments are outdated and impossible.To date,his marauding intruders,ready to pounce on him are there.
Kenya,Kenyans,lets change this culture.
Rest in peace Prof.Wangari.
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