Tribute


Wanuri Kahiu (inset), an accomplished Kenyan filmmaker who made the 2009 ‘For Our Land’ documentary about the life of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai as part of M-Net’s ‘Great Africans’ series, pays homage to the


late environmentalist, trailblazer and pioneer of African women’s empowerment and rights, who died of cancer on 25 September 2011.


Wangari Maathai


A true visionary & inimitable


hero


Maathai was much more to me than the first African woman recipient of the No- bel Peace Prize. She was greater than the woman who believed that a conflict-free life in Africa could be achieved through equal access to clean water and firewood for cooking. She extended past the lim- iting title of ‘Tree Mother of Africa’; in fact, that phrase makes me cringe when I hear it. Wangari Maathai was a hero, an inspiration, a mother, a friend, a teacher and an activist. She was love personified. I have often been embarrassed by


P


our leaders in Africa and even more so by our public acceptance of them. So, finding a public-figure hero among the elders has truly been a daunting task. Al- though many comments among my peers have been the short-lived celebration of


96 | NEW AFRICAN WOMAN | AUTUMN 2011


rofessor Wangari Maathai died on Sunday, 25 Septem- ber, 2011. My heart stopped a moment when I heard the news. Like many, Wangari


Prof. Maathai during the moments of her success and upon hearing about her death, mine was not. I mention her in interviews when I am asked about my influences. I speak of her in response to questions about the role of women in my films. Strength exists in the women I cre- ate because she does. Truth is fought for because she did it. She did not hide her light under a bushel. She did not shy away from dictatorial authority that threatened her freedom and her life. She did not es- cape Kenya to live in exile in distant lands. She stood her ground and loved fiercely. In 2008, I had the opportunity to meet


Prof. Maathai and make a documentary about her life. I knew that nothing I did could measure up or even serve as a vague epitaph of her greatness. Tis became clearer the moment I met her. Our first meeting was in the infamous Karura For- est. We were one group of three media houses that had been block-booked to interview her. She barely had time to do


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