President Kibaki has directed a State funeral be held in honor of the late Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai.
Protocol for state funeral requires that a platoon- traditionally constituted by 36 soldiers in ceremonial uniform and regalia- accompanies the casket as it is drawn during burial. The head of state can also declare a day or days of mourning.
The casket that will be bearing the remains of Prof. Wangari Maathai will be draped in the Kenyan flag, and most likely placed on a stately carriage and escorted by a military platoon like the Late Vice-President Michael Wamalwa burial.
For the late Prof. Wangari we should expect a little more based on that she was an international public figure. The world will be watching so Kenya has to put its best foot forward.
The Head of State in this case has also declared two days of national mourning on Thursday and Friday during which flags will be flown at half-mast. No dates have been set yet for the ceremony.
It is a great loss. It is painful she did not live to enjoy the fruits of the new constitution,” that is how retired cleric Timothy Njoya said of Prof Wangari Maathai’s death. Njoya, a proponent of the second liberation, said he knew Maathai as a selfless person who would always sacrifice herself for the benefit of Kenyans.
Prof Maathai succumbed to ovarian cancer at 11pm on Sunday night, just over a year since she was diagnosed with the disease, in July 2010. Lucy Wanjohi, her personal assistant, said the former Tetu MP was in and out of hospital two weeks prior to her demise, as her health deteriorated. “She was so selfless that she gave herself to be beaten, intimidated and injured by the Kanu administration,” Njoya said.
President Kibaki said Maathai would be remembered for both her environmental and political crusades that led to reforms in the country. “With the passing on of Prof Maathai, the country and the world has not only lost a renowned environmentalist and but also a great human rights crusader,” said the president in a statement sent to newsrooms, “Indeed in 2004, the late Professor was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her contribution in environmental conservation, good governance, human rights and democracy.”
In politics, Prof Maathai, the president said, will be remembered for the role she played in agitating for political reforms that paved the way for the country’s second liberation. Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka were among Kenyans who expressed their shock upon learning of Maathai’s death. “The world has truly lost a hero. Her work in humanitarian and environmental aspects are incomparable” said the PM in his facebook page.
Kalonzo said the loss of Prof Maathai, Kenya’s first Nobel Prize laureate, was one of the saddest and most disturbing in recent times. ” Maathai will be remembered for her unrivalled fortitude, unwavering principles and sincere love for fellow mankind among other attributes found only in one of a kind once in a generation,” said the VP. “I worked in the Environment ministry with Prof Maathai and do remember her as an exceptional lady with an epic regard for excellence.”
Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said he was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Prof.Wangari Maathai. “Wangari Maathai will be remembered as a committed champion of the environment, sustainable development, women’s rights, and democracy. Her contribution to all these causes will forever be celebrated and honoured.
Wangari was a courageous leader. Her energy and life-long dedication to improve the lives and livelihoods of people will continue to inspire generations of young people around the world,” Annan said, “Her award of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, the first to be bestowed upon an African woman, rightly underscored the important nexus in her work between sustainable development, peace and human security”.
UNEP Executive director Achim Steiner said Wangari would be remembered for her conservation efforts. “Wangari Maathai was a force of nature. While others deployed their power and life force to damage, degrade and extract short term profit from the environment, she used hers to stand in their way, mobilize communities and to argue for conservation and sustainable development over destruction,” he said.
Former Kabete MP Paul Muite recalls how the fallen heroine worked tirelessly to rescue Karura Forest from the hands of land grabbers. “She would go the extra mile and although she encountered many challenges, this did not deter her fight,” he said. “She was a true fighter. It’s a very sad event in Kenya, Wangare often reminds me of a verse in the Bible about a prophet not recognised at home but only appreciated outside her home, because this is what happened to Maathai; she was recognised by the international community.”
Wanuri Kahiu, a filmmaker who did a one-hour documentary about the Nobel Laurete, said she admired the environmentalist. “It was intimidating; I was really scared because I really wanted more than anything to be able to tell a beautiful story about Wangari Maathai. Something that will inspire people the same way I was inspired when I read her book,” Wanuri said. Her other Sci-fi film was dedicated to Wangare Maathai. Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, during the launch of the Sci-fi film, said Wangari deserved the Nobel Prize because it had taken her (Maathai’s) concept a notch higher.
A long time friend and fellow professor at the University of Nairobi, Vertistine Mbaya, said Maathai showed the world how important it is to have and demonstrate courage. “The values she had for justice and civil liberties and what she believed in were the obligations of civil society and government,” Mbaya said. “She also demonstrated the importance of recognising the contributions that women can make and allowing them the open space to do so.”
In a statement, the Green Belt Movement executive director Prof Karanja Njoroge described Maathai’s departure as untimely and a great loss to all who knew her, as a mother, relative, co-worker, colleague, role model, and heroine or those who admired her determination to make the world a peaceful, healthy and better place.
Forestry and Wildlife minister Noah Wekesa said Prof Maathai will be remembered for her efforts in the protection of trees and environment. “We will greatly miss her at the ministry. Her work through the Green Belt Movement will be remembered. She became a great advocate for better, equitable and just natural resource management. Her life’s work was recognised many times all over the world and she received awards,” said the minister.
Imenti Central MP Gitobu Imanyara said Prof Maathai was more respected and acknowledged internationally than in her own country. He said the government should have used Maathai’s knowledge and contacts to its advantage. Eldoret North MP William Ruto said he knew Maathai as a very sober politician.
In Parliament, Ruto said Maathai was not swayed by partisan interests but she voted on principle. “She was always objective. She voted with her conscience and her debating was also national,” Ruto said of Maathai. “Her love for the environment will ever be remembered.” Maendeleo ya Wanawake chairperson Rukia Subow said Maathai’s demise was a great loss to the women of this country. “We have lost a leader. A nationalist and an environmentalist,” she said. “May God rest her soul in peace.”
Filmmaker Mohinder Dhillon in a statement said he remembers how Maathai could dare make her way into Karura forest despite the presence of heavy security officers during the Moi era. “I recall one day when she bulldozed forest guards in Mt Kenya forest as she made her way to plant trees,” said Dhillon who also witnessed an incident where Maathai was brutally beaten up by security officers as she attempted to plant trees in Karura. “The government should continue to kick out these land grabbers as the best way to honour her,” he said.
Former Maendeleo ya Wanawake chairperson Zipporah Kittony also offered her condolences. Gichugu MP Martha Karua said she was saddened by Maathai’s death. “It deeply saddens me that Wangari Maathai, who was my role model and a great national and international heroine, has passed on. May we truly honour her life and legacy by carrying on her environmental and human rights activism. Wangari, we shall miss you.”
Dr Isaac Kalua of the Green Africa Foundation eulogised Maathai, saying: “For decades, Professor Maathai inspired many into taking care of the environment and her demise is indeed a great loss to all of us whom she mentored and knew her as a no-nonsense heroine when it came to making a decision that the world must be green and better place for current and future generation. She fought battles that many could not dare fight, and came out victorious.”
Rest in peace Prof Wangari Maathai.
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