Allow me to mourn a fallen heroin- Prof Wangari Maathai

It’s almost 1 AM and for some reasons I can’t sleep, I can’t sleep thinking of you I’m trying to find words which can clearly explain how I felt when I learnt of your death through facebook and near no one to verify or refute the sad news, how I would have loved them refuted as crude joke but no, in my frantic effort to ascertain the then  inflow of traffic from other social network users with more or less shortened updates of RIP Prof, I had to make a call but no my call’s recipient hadn’t received the news yet and so couldn’t dispel or ascertain my fears but somehow they were confirmed and I gauss it must have taken several hours before the news sunk in.

So Kenia as Kenya is popularly known in the global arena is united in mourning one of their own, just the same way we were united in mourning the 1998 bomb blast victims, same way we were united in mourning the Sinai fire victims plus some other prominent leaders that have gone before you, but we are going to mourn you differently because your death is not only felt by Kenyan’s but internationally because your work, sacrifice and commitment did make us proud. You will not be mourned only by human beings but I have a weird feeling that plants and other wild animals will even mourn your death with paining sincerity because you were their mother and their mortal protector who gave so much for them and to humanity in general.

Your death reminds me of how cruel death can be, how unforgiving the ground can be and above all it deepens my fear for cancer. Somehow I don’t want to imagine that you are somewhere lifeless, not moving and not doing what you loved most- planting trees.

You gave life to over 40 million trees, taught us how to be that humming bird who couldn’t  stand to see the whole forest burning down and do nothing about it, so despite its small bick, regardless of the number of trips it had to make and despite the loathing , demeaning and belittling remarks it had from other big animals like elephant who was capable of carrying so much water through its trunk to put out the fire, decided to just do its best- and as mother Theresa reminds us that it’s not God’s intention for us to be the best but just to do our best, I hope your commitment, sacrifice and love for humanity will propel us to always strive to do our best with zeal regardless of the hurdles that we may be faced with.

I join the rest of the world, other renounced leaders and fellow Kenyans in mourning this great heroin, a true lover of nature and human rights, a reformist who did not mind to be ridiculed nor embarrassed while striping naked at the infamous freedom corner just to highlight the plight of others who were then being jailed for no apparent reason.

May the frustrations you went through, your patriotisms, your commitments and sacrifice draw us closer as Kenyans, unify us as one and always motivate us to strive to do our best-always

Eternal rest grant unto her oh Lord, and may your perpetual light shine on her and may her soul rest in peace.