Kenya Celebrates Second Mashujaa Day!

This year’s Mashujaa Day Celebrations started with the unveiling of a statue commemorating and honoring Tom Mboya. It took 42 years for Kenya to honor and celebrate their slain son as a hero. Mboya was felled by an assassin’s bullet in the streets of Nairobi as he came out of a chemist shop in 1969. He was killed when his star was rapidly rising in the political arena. He was tipped to be the likely successor to the first President Jomo Kenyatta.

Mboya's becomes the second of Kenyan Heros Statues, to immortalize the streets of Nairobi. The first was that of the Mau Mau hero Dedan Kimathi. As Kenyans celebrate this day today, they will remember tens of heroes and heroines whose heroic deeds have not been immortalized yet. Quite fresh in memory will be Professor Wangari Maathai who passed on last month.

This day, however, is not only dedicated to the known heroes and heroines. It is also a day to honor the many ordinary and unsung heroes and heroines of our country who dedicate their lives to the service for their fellow Kenyans. One such heroine is Ms Ann Mwangi, featured in today's Daily Nation, who rescued a baby girl that had been abandoned in a dumpsite and has given her a new lease of life and motherly love. Mwangi runs her own Children’s home that now cares for 17 children.

Also today, we should especially remember the men and women of our military who are engaged in the service of protecting our borders against terrorist acts by the al Shabaab. The success of their mission depends on our unequivocal support at this critical moment. Before sending the military to fight the al Shabaab terrorist group, Kenyan borders and sovereignty was violated time and again by insurgent groups from neighboring countries. This action, regrettable as it is, should be a reminder to our neighbors that peace demands dual respect of territorial integrity of your neighboring countries. This is not a war against the Somalia people who cherishes peace and have been supported by Kenyans for many years as they fled their country but it is against the evil groups that have made their country ungovernable.