Kenyan press hail Maathai
09/10/2004 12:02  - (SA)  

A file picture of Wangari Maathai. (AP)

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Nairobi - The Kenyan press on Saturday unanimously hailed the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to environmentalist Wangari Maathai and called for a fresh look at ideals she had stood and made so much sacrifices for.

"The one recognition this nation can give Professor Maathai is not to just bask in her name, but we are reminded to look afresh at the ideals she has stood for and made so much sacrifices for as we say congratulations," for ruling party, Kenya African National Union (Kaniu), newspaper Kenya Times said.

"In a country, where inspirational leadership comes in between, Maathai's Nobel Peace prize must surely fire up national imagination and set Kenyans adjusting their aims higher, especially our girls and women considering that for this woman, it has been a first all her life, even in the academic world.

"It must also be a humbling experience for her, the realisation that this raises her to levels of living legends like Nelson Mandela," Kenya Times said in its Saturday editorial.

'Committed her life'

The independent Daily Nation newspaper on the other hand said that for Kenya, the prize could not have come at a better time.

"As we celebrate Maathai's achievement, we should take time to reflect on our pursuits and ask one question: For what reason will history remember us?

"For Maathai, history will look back at her past and say: Here is one person who committed her life to fighting for preservation of the environment so that future generations are not denied the wonders of the future. Congratulations, Prof Maathai," the paper added.

The Standard pointed out that even the most cynical observer would find it hard to not to agree that the Iron Lady of Kenya's environmental activism deserved this coveted prize.

"Kenyans will recall her fight against the grabbing of Nairobi's Uhuru (freedom) Park and the intention of the Moi regime (of the former president) to build what would have been the tallest building this side of the Indian Ocean," it said.

"The battles she has fought over the years, some at the risk of her own personal safety, to protect the country's forests and other environmental heritage, have made her one of the most renowned environmentalists of all time, not only here in Kenya, but also in the international arena," the People newspaper also pointed out. - AFP

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