Wangari Mathai

I know i have not interacted closely with Professor Wangari Mathai to be the best person to write about her. Of course i boast that we are both alumni of the University Of Nairobi. She also comes from my neigbouring district.When i was a first year at the University of Nairobi, i attended a lecture that she was giving at University of Nairobi, Taifa Hall. Taifa Hall will tell you that it has been a place for perhaps some of the best refined speeches from the true heroes and heroines of Kenya.

Listening to Professor Mathai was a moment well spent. She represented the good values we must fight to keep. She was proud of her ascent and it never bothered her and she was truly Kenyan. She believed in simplicity since she knew it is only when you forget yourself that you can impact the world.

Wangari Maathai was infected for life with the passion that drives men and women to do things that do not make sense to the short sighted. She suffered from the charisma that tears the hearts of stone. She battled with the courage that scares the simple hearted. She spoke with the conviction that turns the hearts of generations. She walked in the strength that knows no defeat and lived on the faith that moves mountains.

Many thought that Wangari's struggle was just about the environment. But hers was far beyond what an ordinary mind can conceive. Wangari fought for the dignity of life, equality and justice. She fought for a better world for all. She suffered for the joy and abundance of generations present and generations to come.

If you asked her what would stop her from the pursuit of peace, a better future and the many ideals she stood for, i'm sure she would tell you that nothing would. Not teargas and blows, not insults and threats, not sickness and infirmity. Not gender or status or tribe. Yeah, not even death because her legacy is very alive even after she is gone.

I once heard a preacher say, " When we came in this world, the first thing we did was cry. And we must live such a life of impact that when we die, the world will cry." That is just what Wangari did. She leaves a world that feels at loss. She leaves a nation that wonders why it has to lose only its best. She leaves a generation that needed a champion. She leaves shoes that few would want to wear.

Whenever Wangari opened her mouth, we all wanted to hear. I remember one time when Students of Egerton University went on strike to protest against the destruction of Mau Forest. They did it the normal way univerity students do. Some of them stoned cars, robbed citizens and engaged police in running battles. And Professor Wangari Mathai had a food for thought. And she said, " I wish our young men were more candid when protesting. If i were them, i would go to Mau Forest holding a tree on one hand and a stone on the other hand. Then i would throw the stone to the person who tries to stop me from planting my tree."

I know we all have much to say about our very own Wangari Mathai. May her soul rest in eternal peace and may her legacy be the next outbreak to be seen in Kenya.