Dear Nyaguthii Chege,
I hope you are doing well. First, thank you so much for attending Penda Kujua‘s Book Club last month. I was among the attendees. I enjoyed your presence and learnt a lot from your contribution to the discussion. Secondly, thank you so much for carrying on with the legacy of Prof. Wangari Maathai through the Green Belt Movement.
I have just finished reading Unbowed. I mean, what a terrific read! As someone who has watched numerous videos of her on YouTube prior to reading the book, I could constantly hear her soothing voice while reading the book. Thanks to Aunt Nyakweya, her storytelling abilities are top-notch.
Of course, we can’t converse with Prof. anymore, but her books provide us with an avenue to immerse ourselves in her brain and hear her voice. In addition, book club discourses – such as Penda Kujua’s – further bridge the gap by enabling people to have deeper and richer conversations with Prof.
To further enrich my learning and appreciation for Prof.’s contribution to my country, I plan to visit one of Nairobi’s “lungs” that she fought so hard to protect, Karura Forest. I will be there on Sunday. I will definitely plant indigenous trees. I’m unsure if the Green Belt Movement’s tree nursery is still within the forest; I would have liked to buy the seedlings from you!
Thirdly, I would like to convey a few points of correction in the book. Perhaps these should be directed to Penguin Books, but I’m very doubtful if they will respond or act accordingly; I believe you are in a better position to trigger an action from them. On page 132, Prof. refers to Gor Mahia as ‘wuod Ogalo’ (the son of Ogalo). This needs fact-checking because my sources point to the fact that Gor Mahia was actually the grandson of Ogalo, not his son. Gor Mahia’s father was Ogada (Luo Clans & Legends, 2024).
On page 255, Prof. states that “In Kenya, you need to be elected as an MP in order to also be the President, but you can run for both at the same time.” In addition, on the following page, she states that “[one] couldn’t be a candidate without a political party.” These are according to the old constitution and, therefore, need updating and/or additional commentaries.
An updated, new edition of Unbowed would be amazing, marking her 85th birthday!
Kind regards,
Melkizedek “Mel” Mirasi
The PDF version of the letter can be downloaded here.
