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Wangari Muta Maathai, 1940-2011
Agencia Brasil

Wangari Maathai’s legacies ‘are not just for future generations of Kenyans – her influence was global. We have lost her far too early,’ writes Shailja Patel.

It's terrifying to think that if Wangari Maathai had not taken on Moi and his cronies, we would have no Uhuru Park today. As Keguro Macharia writes, in his Gukira blog: ‘Indeed, the history of public space in Kenya is inextricably linked to Wangari’s name.’

Wangari Maathai was a great tree in her lifetime. Now, she is a forest. Her legacies are not just for future generations of Kenyans – her influence was global. We have lost her far too early.

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* Shailja Patel is a Kenyan poet, playwright and activist.
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