Destination Magazine

March 2014

March 2014

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AN RYAN YNOLDS REYNOLDS Surprise You He’ll Surprise You

YA’S RISING KENYA’S RISING TOURISM SEX TOURISM USTRY INDUSTRY

D HOSTAGE HELD HOSTAGE Wanyoike’s

yingDaniel OrdealWanyoike’s at the Horrifying of Al-Shabaab Ordeal at the Hands of Al-Shabaab

MATTHEW MATTHEW

MCCONAUGHEY MCCONAUGHEY

EVERYBODY’S LISTENING EVERYBODY’S LISTENING

LDING A FUTURE One Death Row Inmate is Making a Difference BUILDING A FUTURE One Death Row Inmate is Making a Difference Destination March ���� 1

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32 The DarkAs Side of Paradise Terrorist attacks.

Travel Hostage a truck driver’s assistant, Daniel Njuguna 26 warnings.

Bans.

The number of foreign tourists coming Wanyoike never considered himself a target of the alto Kenya has slumped as a result.

However, one group of Shabaab, even though his job constantly took him across visitors appears not to have been put off – sex tourists – Kenya’s borders into neighbouring countries. Wanyoike who aremade creating a crisis onand the sound idyllic coastline. always it home safe but this changed when By Josaya Wasonga he stepped into Somalia for the first time and came face to face with the monstrous terrorist group By Anthony Kuria 40 Dan and Me, Twenty Years OnDefinition East Africa’s history 32 Matthew McConaughey: The of Cool isEasygoing, so denselycalm packed intriguing personalities and to and with collected, McConaughey speaks fascinating stories it’s hard to become from part his of our DM and shares histhat opinions on everything love of mythos, but thetoincredible, and tragically short, lifeatand a good T-shirt his vital charity work. Discovered 26, career of photojournalist Dan Eldon in ourwith the McConaughey spring-boarded ontohas the stuck big screen minds.

MikeDazed Eldon,and his Confused father, marks 20th year cult classic andthe solidified his since status Dan killed in this A special reverie with was the memorable, Time to Kill. Oozing Southern Charm, McConaughey tells DM how serendipity led to his being discovered, necessary reinvention, how a trip to 66 Hostage As aabout truckadriver’s assistant, Danieland Njuguna West Africa changed his life Wanyoike never considered himself a target of the al-

82 Matthew McConaughey The Definition of Cool

In this issue

Shabaab, even though his job constantly took him across The Graduate Peter Ouko was incarcerated for bordersWhen into neighbouring countries.

Wanyoike 46 Kenya’s the murder wife,safe the and rest sound of his life, was to be always madeofithis home butwhich this changed spenthe in one of Kenya’s most notorious prisons Kamiti – when stepped into Somalia for the first time –and came looked bleak.

But, the father of two pulled himself up by his face to face with the monstrous terrorist group bootstraps accepted an offer to go back to school while By Anthonyand Kuria serving a life sentence. Having recently graduated with a diploma in Common Law from the University of London, Ouko 82 Matthew McConaughey: The Definition of Cool is testament that even behind bars, life goes Easygoing, calm and collected, McConaughey speaks to on Njoki Chege DM and shares his opinions on everything from his love of a good T-shirt to his vital charity work. Discovered at 26, spring-boarded onto therampant big screen with 52 McConaughey Boko haram: Masters of Terror With bombings, the cult classic Dazed and Confused and solidified his beheadings and kidnappings of civilians, Boko Haram, status memorable, A Time to Kill.

Oozing Southern whosewith raidsthe have created ghost towns in northeast Nigeria, Charm, McConaughey tells DM how serendipity led to his means business. But, for how long will the merciless killings being discovered, about a necessary reinvention, and how prevail with wrangles within the Nigerian government and aan trip to West Africa changed his life under-armed military hindering any efforts made to bring down the militia? Christine Otieno investigates

92 The Graduate When Peter Ouko was incarcerated for the murder of his wife, the rest of his life, which was to be 60 Dylan McDermott: A Man of the People Known for his spent in one of Kenya’s most notorious prisons – Kamiti – on-screen charisma and un-ageing good looks, Dylan looked bleak. But, the father of two pulled himself up by McDermott reveals that there are as many sides to him as the his bootstraps and accepted an offer to go back to school roles he plays on screen. Adored in The Practice as Bobby while serving a life sentence. Having recently graduated Donnell, McDermott is back yet again with a new show, with a diploma in Common Law from the University of Stalker, that has audiences perched at the edge of their London, Ouko is testament that even behind bars, life seats. Speaking to DM, McDermott talks about his tumultuous goes on By Njoki Chege childhood, his commitment to activism, a love for the Congo, and his lesser known passion for photography 102 Caricatures of Revolution Used as a tool for satirising socialSomeone situations, theirbrains work 78 political Laurie and Holden: tocartoonists Know Withand beauty, have drawn anger and admiration in equal measure. and humility, Laurie Holden is a rare species, especially in an Anthony Kuria looks at the history of political industry as fickle as Hollywood.

Laurie speakscartoons about her love and their impact in Kenya, as cartoonists and their– brand for travel, her passion for academia and activism which has of satire continue to rufflecorners feathers rallying citizens taken her to the farthest of whilst the globe – and so much to speak all under the cloak of ink more without DMagainst as shesocial opensevils, up about life after The Walking and colour Dead and the new projects she is excited to be working on

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Your Absolut best HolidAY! Destination Magazine and Absolut Vodka wish to celebrate the season of giving by offering you a chance to win two bottles of the premium spirit.

All thAt’s stAnding between you And the prize is two questions: ❉ Absolut launched their first flavoured vodka in 1986 and have since become known for their enticing infusions. what are two of the 14 flavours currently offered? ❉ Absolut is extremely proud of its heritage and every bottle shows it off. what town and country did the vodka come from?

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16 Team Page and Partners 12 Editorial 20 Editorial Team and Partners 14 Destination 24 RoundUp UPWhat’s What’sbeen BeenHappening Happening 16 Round 26 RoundUp UpComing ComingUp Up 18 Round 28 ThisMonth Month in in Entertainment Entertainment 20 This 101 Focus Fouche 42 InInFocus AliClair Mazrui 122 We Want KnowDavis Fena Gitu BacktoKristin 44 Giving 68 Subscribe Now!

In everyissue

67 Style What’s Chic on the Streets 74 Culture Real Life Gangsters are Imitating The Godfather 88 We Want to Know Fena Gitu

March 2014

March 2014

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RYAN RYAN REYNOLDS REYNOLDS He’ll Surprise You He’ll Surprise You

KENYA’S RISING KENYA’S RISING SEX TOURISM SEX TOURISM INDUSTRY INDUSTRY HELD HOSTAGE

HELD HOSTAGE Daniel Wanyoike’s HorrifyingDaniel OrdealWanyoike’s at the Horrifying Ordeal at the Hands of Al-Shabaab Hands of Al-Shabaab

MATTHEW MATTHEW

MCCONAUGHEY MCCONAUGHEY

EVERYBODY’S LISTENING EVERYBODY’S LISTENING

98 East African Legacies

14 March ����2014 Destination 10 November Destination

BUILDING A FUTURE One Death Row Inmate is Making a Difference BUILDING A FUTURE One Death Row Inmate is Making a Difference

Cover photograph by Marc Hom

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Karibu

scenery and hospitality for over a hundred years now, but as we editorial moved into the 21st Century, the picturesque, sunny plains of Africa began to take a serious back seat to the problems that seem to plague our otherwise thriving and ideal land.

The most recent culprit to pop its ugly head back up in West Africa, Ebola, has caused some serious concerns globally, with a good many would-be visitors cancelling long awaited trips to various countries on the continent, Kenya In this has issue, spend some Africa long been seen as atime included. False alarm? Hopefully, but ifwe the disease can with Mike of Eldon, of late continent contradictions: a reach Europe and America, certainly it canfather reach Kenya. world immense beauty, dynamic famed Kenyan journalist Dan And as though on standby, the of old faithfuls; civil war and cultureby and tremendous hospitality Eldon, who shares witha continent us about terrorism, are readily standing to destabilise on the handusand Africa that is already on shaky ground.

It saddens methe Africaofis his son,one taking on athat journey incredible horrors, hopelessly in forced to endure such barbarity the continent itself that onlywhen a parent could. Dan wasis a constant state of crisis, on the one of warmth, welcomekilled and tenacity.

Nowat more ever, in Somalia the than tender other, all wrapped up into oneup nice Africa needs wise, focused, to take agedetermined of �� whileleaders documenting the package. Visitors havewhile beenworking coming our problems and find sustainable solutions, tragic loss ofweather, human life after an to enjoy wildlife, with our international partners toour grow and strengthen our American military strike.

It is scenery and hospitality foris, over economies and infrastructure.

The question really where aa sad tale that allows to hundred years now, readers but as we are such leaders in Africa? venture into the life of a unique, moved into the 21st Century, the In this issue Christine Otieno takes a closer look at the picturesque, sunny plains ofWhile Africa began toface take a face serious colorful young journalist. young intoage, Dan Boko Haram terrorist group, trulystill coming with back seat to the problems that seem to plague our otherwise Eldon embraced life with a simple motto: life is short, and evil. Africa has suffered her fair share of war and civil conflict thriving and ideal land. butare few terror groups have caused pain and fearhis we best served experiencing it so to much the fullest.

While The most to endures. pop its head back up in the lives of theirculprit victims, save forugly the Lord’s Resistance life was cut recent short, his story inArmy West Africa, Ebola, has caused some serious concerns in Northern Uganda – which made children execute We have been planning a story for quite some time now globally, with aor good visitors cancelling long theirtakes parents get many killed would-be themselves – and the Revolutionary that an investigative look into the murky world of sex awaited trips to various countries on the continent, Kenya United Front Sierra Leone fame like includes tourism on thein Kenyan coast. whose This topic, manyhacking others included.

False Hopefully, the disease off the limbs ofalarm? innocent people but andifmaking themcan choose that we feature, is rather sensitive, and as such we found reach Europe andtheir America, it can reach Kenya. whether to lose hand certainly or arm entirely.

Barbaric. it difficult getting people speak openly with And though on standby, the old made faithfuls; civil us. warSome and Inasrecent months, Boko to Haram international actually refused to meet with by ourtowriters, outgirls fear terrorism, are readily standing destabilise aofcontinent headlines when it kidnapped over 200 school for for its their and work.

Sex tourism has been that alreadyreputation on shaky ground.

It saddens meand that Africa is ownissafety, sadistic purposes.

Global calls to action an online forced to endure such barbarity when the continent itself is able to thrive in Kenya as it is kept in the the shadows; no one campaign, ‘#BringBackOurGirls’, brought group’s one of to warmth, welcome andtotenacity.

Now more than ever, wants shine the spotlight on it and begin to eradicate atrocities centre stage.

Yet, date, there has been little result.

Africa needs wise, focused, determined leaders to take up BokoKenya’s Haram:menu Masters Terror, treats. find outInwho group itIn from ofofholiday thisthis important our problems and find sustainable solutions, while working really iswe andventure what Nigeria is to bring its reign of fear to feature, down to doing the coast to see for ourselves with our international partners to grow and strengthen our what is going on. You will be shocked by what you read. economies and infrastructure. The question really is, where are such leaders in Africa?

In this issue Christine Otieno takes a closer look at the Boko Haram terrorist group, truly coming face to face with evil. Africa has suffered her fair share of war and civil conflict but few terror groups have caused so much pain and fear in the lives of their victims, save for the Lord’s Resistance 12 November Destination Army in Northern2014 Uganda – which made children execute their parents or get killed themselves – and the Revolutionary United Front in Sierra Leone whose fame includes hacking off the limbs of innocent people and making them choose whether to lose their hand or arm entirely. Barbaric.

In recent months, Boko Haram made international headlines when it kidnapped over 200 school girls for its own sadistic purposes. Global calls to action and an online campaign, ‘#BringBackOurGirls’, brought the group’s atrocities centre stage. Yet, to date, there has been little result.

In Boko Haram: Masters of Terror, find out who this group really is and what Nigeria is doing to bring its reign of fear to

20 March ����2014 Destination 12 November Destination

deserve rebuke?

In this issue we feature one of our favourite actors and one of the stars of Stalker, Dylan McDermott. First coming to international fame as the noble lead on The Practice, McDermott has been wowing audiences in one film or TV project after another. In Stalker, he plays an FBI agent with secrets of his own, who is relocated to the West Coast to work with a specialised unit that tracks down stalkers. The drama may well have the most shocking, terrifying openers of any show ever aired on network TV. Stalker is definitely worth I am personally thrilled to bring readers that a highly an end. watching if you fancy something intelligent is guaranteed personal of Hollywood’s most sought On a happier note, haveone a new favourite show.

CBS to give youinterview a bit of aIwith fright. recently premiered their new crimesought drama, Stalker after actors, Matthew Leading theand, way Without doubt one ofMcConaughey. the most after actors in in while is over seriously enthralling, it is taking some from film itfor �5 cover years, McConaughey has been heat knocking Hollywood, our feature, Matthew McConaughey, has critics who view the programme as being misogynistic been leading the way in film for over 20 years, knocking out heart touching romantic comedies and soul-wrenching and little than with a manual for loonies who are keen to out heartmore touching romantic comedies soul-wrenching dramatic thrillers the ease of an and actor who is fully violently target women.

Personally, I can’t see it.

There is dramatic with the ease an actor who month is fully we are invested thrillers in the projects that heoftakes on. This a invested lot morein violent television on the air on. right now that has the projects that he takes This month we are delighted to work with Matthew, showcasing his upcoming been celebrated, notwith condemned.

So, how do naysayers pick delighted to work Matthew, showcasing his upcoming work, and what help they you get meet a and more intimate side of and willtosupport filmchoose Interstellar and helping you get to which meet aprogrammes more personal Mr. McConaughey. After reading the interview, I am sure deserve side of rebuke?

Mr. McConaughey. After reading the feature I am sure that youissue willlove lovefeature himand and his work morethan than ever.

In this we one ofwork our favourite actors and that you will him his more ever. love every issue of DM that I am blessed to oversee, oneIIof the stars of Stalker, Dylan McDermott.

First coming love every issue of DM that gets put together but this toone international as the anoble leadpacked on Practice, but this one isfame especially favourite.

It The is jam packed is especially a favourite.

It is jam with storieswith on McDermott has been wowing audiences in one film or stories on fascinating people who have faced life inTV all fascinating people who have faced life in all its difficulties, project after another.

Stalker, heplough plays an FBI agent head on, and made aIn decision ahead.

We allwith go its difficulties, head on, and to made a decision to plough secrets of his own, who is relocated to the West Coast to through turbulence during our brief time on this planet ahead. We all go through turbulence during our briefwork with awhat specialised unitbut that tracks down stalkers. drama but really makes thewhat difference is how we embrace the time on this planet really makes theThe difference may wellThis havemonth the most shocking, terrifying openers of any of waves.

DM showcases some amazing examples is how we embrace the waves. This month DM showcases show ever aired network TV. Stalker is definitely worth individuals whoon deserve our attention. some amazing examples of individuals who deserve our watching if you fancy something that guaranteed This is our second last issue ofintelligent the year as weisprepare for attention.

It is our privilege to share their lives and stories tothe give you a bitseason. of a fright.

Christmas I hope that you enjoy it and that you with you.doubt Without one of the mostspirit. sought after actors in are wrapping your year in good These articles and so much more make upFollow this issue.

Hollywood, our cover Matthew McConaughey, hason Please remember tofeature, LIKE us on Facebook; us Remember to LIKE us on Facebook; Follow on DM is been leading the way in film for over 20 years, knocking Twitter and Link with us on LinkedIn. If you loveus what out heart touching romantic comedies soul-wrenching Twitter and Link with us on LinkedIn. If you love what offering in hard copy, there is so muchand more online. dramatic thrillers with the ease of an actor who fully online.

DM is offering in hard copy, there is so muchismore invested in the projects that he takes on.

This month we are Blessings, delighted to work with Matthew, showcasing his upcoming Blessings, film Interstellar and helping you get to meet a more personal Editor-in-Chief Editor-in-Chief side of Mr. McConaughey. After reading the feature I am sure that you will love him and his work more than ever.

I love every issue of DM that gets put together but this one is especially a favourite. It is jam packed with stories on fascinating people who have faced life in all its difficulties, head on, and made a decision to plough ahead. We all go through turbulence during our brief time on this planet but what really makes the difference is how we embrace the waves. This month DM showcases some amazing examples of individuals who deserve our attention.

This is our second last issue of the year as we prepare for the Christmas season. I hope that you enjoy it and that you are wrapping your year in good spirit.

Please remember to LIKE us on Facebook; Follow us on Twitter and Link with us on LinkedIn. If you love what DM is offering in hard copy, there is so much more online.

Blessings,

Editor-in-Chief

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The Serena History

Hunt Destination Magazine, in association with Serena Hotels, is inviting its readers to join them on a great historical treasure hunt

Join the Hunt!

Submit a high-resolution photo or photos (maximum of three) of historical relevance to any East African country.

Include a short caption describing your photo’s historical significance and where you found your subject.

Thank you so much to all those who submitted last quarter, including photos of:

● The pillars in the Zanzibar Anglican Cathedral,

which were installed upside down because Bishop Edward Steere, who was in charge at the time, was away on a mission. ● Mango Tree Lane near the Marhubi Palace Ruins on the East Coast of Zanzibar, which has a history full of legends involving a sultan and his daughter – and the heads of her lovers in one version! ● Our winner, a photo of a house destroyed during Idi Amin’s rule in Uganda.

These were wonderful submissions of interesting, historical places off the beaten track, keep them up!

But remember, we’re looking for lesser known sites and places, so be sure to dig deep in your search for East Africa’s historical treasures.

The competition

is seeking

untold tales!

22 March ���� Destination

How To EnTEr Submit your high resolution (2MB or larger) photos and captions to submissions@eadestination.com by 31 March, 2014.

THE PrIzE The most entertaining, historically correct and unique submission will be printed in the magazine, and the successful applicant will win two nights for two at one of Serena Hotel’s amazing properties.* The winners will be selected quarterly and December’s lucky history buff will receive a grand prize of five nights.

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round up RUSSELL PETERS ROCKS NAIROBI

57TH GRAMMY AWARDS

The 57th Annual Grammy Awards were held on Feb. 8, 2015, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Rapper LL Cool J hosted the show for the fourth consecutive time.

Sensational British soul singer, Sam Smith, took home four Grammys, including song of the year and record of the year for his smash hit Stay with Me; best pop vocal album for In the Lonely Hour; and best new artist. Beck managed to beat Beyoncé and Sam Smith to win the 2015 Grammy for album of the year. Beyoncé didn’t win album of the year for her self-titled triumph, but she easily won the 2015 Grammy for her performance of the Thomas A. Dorsey gospel classic Take My Hand, Precious Lord. Sia, best known for not appearing in her music videos, performed her song Chandelier while facing a wall. Other top performers of the night were Sam Smith and Mary J Blige with Stay with Me, Hozier & Annie Lennox with Take me to Church, and Madonna with Living for Love. As a sideshow, one reminiscent of 2008, Beck was almost interrupted by Kanye West while receiving his award.

FIFTY SHADES OF GREY BREAKS RECORDS AT THE BOX OFFICE

The highly anticipated film adaptation of the bestselling book, Fifty Shades of Grey, by British author E. L. James, was a box office hit, earning more than $266 million in its opening weekend despite getting mixed reviews from critics. It became the highest grossing release of 2015 and the 21st biggest opening of all time. The erotic drama premiered at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival on Feb. 11 2015 and was later released in 75 IMAX theatres across the US on Feb.13, just in time for Valentine’s Day hence presenting itself as a saucy evening out for couples looking to spice up their love lives. Fifty Shades of Grey follows the relationship of 27-yearold billionaire Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) and college student Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson). It was directed

by Sam Taylor-Johnson with a screenplay by Kelly Marcel. A sequel is planned for a 2016 release.

24 March 16 March ���� 2015 Destination Destination

Hilarious Canadian-born comedian, Russell Peters, thrilled Kenyans at a soldout concert hosted at the Carnivore Restaurant. Fans came out in large numbers to experience Russell’s comical craze in his Almost Famous world tour. The show was spectacular with the comedian cracking ribs with his witty jokes as he told tales that only left smiles and laughter on the faces of audience at the show. Russell, who is the son of an Indian immigrant, is famed for his portrayal of his late authoritarian dad Eric Peters. His father was born in Mumbai, India, and worked as a federal meat inspector. Laugh Industries CEO and stand-up pioneer comedian, Churchill, said that Russell’s presence in Kenya will help in “blowing up” the Kenyan comedy scene.

FOREST WHITAKER IN NAIROBI

American actor, producer, Oscar recipient and director Forest Whitaker, made a brief stopover in Nairobi on Feb. 9, 2015 after a three day mission in South Sudan. The UNESCO Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation was in the country on a joint visit with Valerie Amos, the UN UnderSecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. They were taking part in the Ocha-Igad high-level event on the Humanitarian Crisis in South. The Last King of Scotland actor established the Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative (WPDI) foundation in support of peace-building in South Sudan. The foundation inaugurated a sports center in the Protection of Civilian camp managed by the United Nations in Juba and a computer center in Torit.

Whitaker says his goal is to cultivate the next generation of peace and community builders.

NAIROBI NAMED AFRICA’S MOST INTELLIGENT CITY

DEADLY CAIRO STAMPEDE

At least 22 people were killed outside an Egyptian soccer stadium when security forces barred fans from entering.

The violence erupted ahead of a scheduled match between Egyptian Premier League clubs Zamalek and ENPPI at Air Defence Stadium east of Cairo. The Interior Ministry said the clashes occurred after supporters of Zamalek, known as Ultras White Knights, tried to attend the game without buying tickets. The victims were crushed to death after police used tear gas to disperse rowdy fans who were trying to force their way into the stadium. Scores of people were injured, with most suffering broken bones and bruising. The match continued despite the violence, provoking further outrage among the fans. After convening an emergency meeting to discuss the violence, the Cabinet announced that it was postponing upcoming league matches until further notice.

The deadliest riot in Egypt soccer history came during a 2012 match when Port Said’s Al-Masry team hosted Cairo’s Al-Ahly.

That riot, at the time the deadliest in the world since 1996, killed 74 people, mostly Al-Ahly fans.

For the second consecutive year, Nairobi was named the most intelligent city in Africa by the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF), an international think tank and Nonprofit policy research organization which focuses on job creation and economic development. According to the ICF, “intelligent communities” are those that have taken conscious steps to create an economy that can prosper in the “broadband economy.” The group has recently released its latest rankings, recognizing the achievements of communities that have built inclusive, prosperous economies on a basis of information and communication technologies. Nairobi was ranked first in Africa, and tenth overall internationally, for its efforts in creating healthy business relations within the city, relations which are geared at making the economy of the country grow in leaps. Although Nairobi failed to make it to the world’s top seven finalists, ICF cited that the city is the best place to invest monies as it is more advanced technologically and intellectually than any other city in Africa. Nairobi was the only African city to appear on their shortlist of 21 hubs throughout the world for 2015.

IVORY COAST WINS THE 2015 AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS

Ivory Coast ended a 22-year trophy drought to clinch the AFCON title after beating Ghana 9-8 in a dramatic penalty shootout. The Elephants claimed the victory after the winning penalty was scored by their goalkeeper, Boubacar Barry, after he had saved the preceding effort from his Ghana Counterpart, Razak Braimah. The final, played in Bata, Equatorial Guinea was watched by the country’s President Teodoro Obiang, FIFA president Sepp Blatter and Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) president Issa Hayatou. Chelsea striker Didier Drogba joined in his country’s celebrations from the comfort of his home in London. Drogba posted a video on his Instagram account showing the moment when Barry’s last kick sealed the victory, as he jumped in excitement alongside his family. The former Ivory Coast skipper had led the team to two finals in Egypt in 2006 and GabonEquatorial Guinea in 2012 when they lost on both occasions through penalties to Egypt and Zambia respectively.

THAIS DAIRRA LIVE IN CONCERT

Swiss based afro-soul singer Thais Dairra made her inaugural performance in Kenya at the The Elephant in Nairobi. She enthralled fans with her diverse styles of music, ranging from Reggae, Mbalax and Mandingue music. Diarra has a rich cultural heritage with roots in Mali and Senegal. She was born in Switzerland, to a music-loving mother and a bassplaying father. She has one studio album, Metisse, under her belt. Recorded in Switzerland and Senegal, the essence of Metisse is in its mixture of African instruments such as kora and balafon. The album speaks of tolerance and hope, on exile, persecution and the day to day difficulties faced by Africans living at home and abroad. With her melodic voice and mastery of the guitar, she was, with no doubt, an instant hit with the audience.

Destination March March2015 ���� 25 17

round up

coming up Save these dates ...

6 March UGANDA INTERNATIONAL WRITERS CONFERENCE

The second edition of the Uganda International writers’ conference will be held in Kampala, Uganda.

The event, which is organised by The African Writers trust, is expected to attract a wide array of participants – writers, academics, literary and cultural practitioners, critics, journalists, translators and supporters of the arts – and thirty high profile delegates.

Other participants will include literary organisations engaged in the promotion of African literature, arts funding agencies and cultural and arts practitioners from Africa and the Diaspora.

Participants will be treated to an enlightening debate focusing on African writing on a global context.

Acclaimed South African novelist, poet and playwright, Professor Zakes Mda, will deliver the keynote address. Other highlights of the event will include a literary evening of readings and poetry recitals.

Zakes Mda will be reading from his recently published memoir, Sometimes there is a Void, alongside other renowned Ugandan and international writers.

Website: www.africanwriterstrust.org E-mail: info@africanwriterstrust.org

12 - 16 March LAMU YOGA FESTIVAL

The pristine beaches of Shella, Lamu and Manda will play host to the second edition of the Lamu Yoga Festival.

The event promises to incorporate more activities – a sand castle asana competition, drumming showcase, sunset dhow trips, lectures, and yoga workshops – than the massively successful first edition.

Taking place in one of the oldest towns in Kenya, Lamu, an area immersed in culture, tradition and natural beauty, the festival aims to strengthen cohesion among the surrounding communities, while enhancing interaction with yoga enthusiasts (108 yoga practitioners turned up for the event in 2014) from around the world.

Be sure to attend and engage your spiritual side on the white sandy beaches of Lamu.

Where: Shella and Manda, Lamu Time: 8am Email: info@lamuyoga.org Website: www.lamuyoga.org 26 March 18 March���� 2015 Destination Destination

17 – 22 March MICHAEL BUBLÉ LIVE

Grammy Award winner, Michael Bublé, will be making his third stopover in South Africa to promote his latest album, To Be Loved (2013).With news of a ticketing site crash, and hundreds of tweets about the concert, one can only conclude that this will be his biggest gig yet.

Bublé began his worldwide tour in early January by touring Asia for the first time and has been quoted as saying that his latest album is the best he has ever made. He puts a twist on the album by recording covers of his favorite classics. The songs include Who’s Loving You (The Jackson Five), To Love Somebody (Bee Gees), and To be Loved which is also the album’s title and originally recorded by Jackie Wilson.

Where: Capetown, Durban and Johannesburg Website: www.michaelbuble.com/tour

23 – 27 March WORLD MASTERCARD FASHION WEEK

The fashion world’s sights are set to be trained on the World MasterCard Fashion Week. The influential fashion event will showcase their fall/winter collection this March, and hopefully set the bar high for other upcoming fashion events in 2015.

Apart from bringing together renowned celebrities and the biggest names in fashion from around the world, the event will give upcoming designers a platform to showcase their designs. Some of the highlights of the week-long event include spectacular fashions shows, high profile parties and of course a chance to mingle with some of the industries most interesting personalities.

15 - 16 November Organisers have announced that all purchases made wirelessly through MasterCard enjoy aFASHION great discount – NAIROBI FASHION MARKET: will FESTIVE which is great news for fashion aficionados.

The Nairobi Fashion Market presents an unparalleled Where: David Square opportunity forPecaut fashionistas and designers alike to exhibit their products and crafts, and is expected to live up to its Website: worldmastercardfashionweek.com theme of ‘Styling Kenya, Branding you’. This year’s event, its 8th edition, will be held at the Ngong Racecourse. More than 100 stakeholders from the fashion and lifestyle industry will be coming together to promote, market and sell their brands for this event that promises to be a fantastic shopping and entertainment experience.

Where: Ngong Racecourse Tel: +254 722 247 522/ +254 721 539 624 Email: info@nfm.co.ke Website: http://www.nfm.co.ke/

22 November THE DIAMOND VODKA EXPERIENCE: WONDERLAND 2014

Diamond Vodka aficionados come together to celebrate this premium liquor. This second sequel of this monthly event will be held at the RFUEA grounds, the home of the Kenya Harlequins Rugby team. The event will be showcasing some of the brands Diamond Vodka has in the market and revellers will enjoy some of the finest cocktails made by professional mixologists from around the country. Its special recipe, precise production technology and thorough quality control makes Diamond Vodka one of the smoothest liquors in the world. Nothing short of good music, beautiful people and a breathtaking experience is expected at the Diamond Vodka party as we usher in the festive season.

Where: RFUEA Grounds/Kenya Harlequins Grounds Tel: +254 715 191 239 Email: Owanjie@gmail.com

15 - 16 November BIZARRE BAZAAR CHRISTMAS CRAFT FESTIVAL

This is a crafts and trade show which highlights and attracts traditional and contemporary artists from around the African continent and beyond. This bi-annual festival serves as a platform for 27 contemporary - 28 March and traditional crafts CAPE INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL creatorsTOWN and the sale Since its inception in 2000, the Cape Town International Jazz of their wares directly Festival has gained incredible traction, earning the status to the public. This of being one of the most prestigious events on the African event will be held at continent. the KFEET grounds year promises to be even better space at the of Cape Town inThis the Karura forest and has a limited 80 stalls festival, asfor top jazz interested and jazz-influenced singers andwork. other available those in showcasing their artistes will grace the 2-day event.

Where: Karura Forest, Gigiri.

Like+254 in previous years, Tel: 701 395 902the 16th edition of the annual festival is going to give jazz lovers a music high that will stick with Email: info@bizbazevents.com them for years to come. The event is famous for hosting some Website: http://bizbazevents.com/ of the finest acts – jazz and jazz fusion artists – in the genre, and this year will be no different. The star-studded line up includes nominated American singer-songwriter 19 - 23 Grammy November and keyboardist Amel Larrieux, Basia Trzetrzelewska (U.K./ JOHN LEGEND IN Poland), Beatenberg (S.A), Bänz Oester and The Rainmakers CONCERT as well as the Claude Cozens Trio (S.A) among (SWISS/SA), The Coca-Cola Dome others. in Johannesburg, Where: CTICC - Cape Town International Centre South Africa, is the Tel: +27 21 671 0506 venue John Legend Email: info@espafrika.com fans will be flocking Website: www.capetownjazzfest.com to this month. Having received the special Starlight Award from 15th March Hall the Songwriters of Fame in 2007, THE KENYA KITEtheFESTIVAL nine-time The fourthGrammy edition of the annual Kenya Kite Festival will award is set to at the Nairobi Polo Club. The Kenya be heldwinner on March 15th perform at the dome on largest international kiting event Kite Festival is the second November 19, 22 and FansAfrica, will bebringing treated to the singer’s on the continent after23.

South together kite smooth as makers honey voice accompanied calming flyers, kite and kite buffs fromby around theinstruments. globe.

With aitscapacity of 19,000 people,the thefestival Coca-Cola Dome has Since inception in Aug.2012, has evolved to in the past played hostoutdoor to worldfamily renowned bands such as year, become a must attend fun day event.

This Nickelbackwill andbe The Foo Fighters. is thekiting perfect event for attendants treated to a oneThis of a kind experience a romantic night exciting out or ifkiting you prefer, bonding moment that will include stunts,a competitions, aerowith familydisplays and friends.

Fans to hear Legend perform show and lots ofcan funexpect filled activities.

The highlight histhe smash “Allamazing of Me” 20-30 from his acclaimed of eventsingle will be feetcritically kite displays by fourth studiokite album Love In Theand Future well as afriends mix of hit professional flyers.

Attend haveasfun with songs fromas his previous and family you supportalbums. the organiser’s aim to have Kenya Where: internationally Coca-Cola Dome, Johannesburg South Africa become recognised as a kiting destination.

Tel: +27Nairobi 11 794 5800 Where: Polo Club http://coca-coladome.co.za/ Website: kenyakitefestival.co.ke

March2015 ���� 27 Destination Destination November March 2014 19

down time

This Month in

Entertainment Film A LITTLE CHAOS

INSURGENT

Photographs: Getty/Thinkstock

The highly anticipated sequel of the award-winning futuristic movie, Divergent, brings back the determined Tris Prior (Shailene Woodley).

After finding out that she is a divergent, Tris bands together with other rebels to try and save what is left of their world from the leader of the Erudites, Jeanine Matthews (Kate Winslet), as she sets out to destroy the ‘inferior’ factions. In this actionpacked film, Tris must make tough choices as she teams up with her trainer-turnedbeau, Four, a fellow divergent played by Theo James, who is known for his role in the TV series Golden Boy. The film is full of familiar faces from Miles Teller (Whiplash) to Maggie Q (Stalker), Ansel Elgort (The Fault in Our Stars) and Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer.

Academy Award winner Kate Winslet delivers an exquisite performance in this romantic drama set in 17th Century France. Sabine De Barra (Kate Winslet) is tasked with designing the gardens surrounding the palace of Versailles and has to appease the demanding King Louis XIV, played by Alan Rickman.

Although she is not a noble, Sabine catches the attention of the gentry. As her new found friend André Le Notre (Matthias Schoenaerts) helps guide Sabine when she finds herself in the King’s court, their platonic relationship develops into something more.

Well-known for his role as Professor Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films, awardwinning actor Alan Rickman also dons the hat of director in this captivating film about love, determination and the need to belong.

THE SECOND BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL

Academy award winning director John Madden (Shakespeare in Love), delivers a follow-up to the surprise hit, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. In this sequel, Sonny (Dev Patel) is expanding the hotel with the help of Muriel Donnelly, played by Dame Maggie Smith. The opening of the Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel brings in new visitors like the suave silver fox Guy (Richard Gere), who creates quit the impression on the hotel’s returning guest Madge (Celia Imrie).

The ever-complicated back and forth romance between Evelyn (Dame Judi Dench) and Douglas (Bill Nighy) is mellowed by the sarcastic Jean (Penelope Wilton) who resurfaces with her cutting remarks. With song and dance, witty one-liners and a budding love story, the film retains all the elements that endeared it to audiences in its first instalment.

CHAPPIE

Niell Blomkamp, the director who brought us District 9 and Elysium, is back with futuristic action flick Chappie.

Kidnapped from a young age by gangsters, Chappie is a robot confused by his existence due to his intended purpose of serving as part of an artificial intelligence police force. Chappie (Sharlto

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Copley), with his unique capacity for independent thought and other human-like qualities, manages to escape his dysfunctional family.

Newly settled with Deon (Dev Patel), the droid begins to see the upside of things. The spanner in the works is then thrown by Hugh Jackman, who lets out his natural Australian accent as he plays Vincent, the antagonist. Under the directive of the authority (Sigourney Weaver), Vincent seeks to eliminate Chappie who is trying to make his own way in the world.

IN THE HEART OF THE SEA

In what would inspire Herman Melville’s classic Moby Dick, the film depicts the unfortunate events that took place on Nov. 20, 1820.

Despite warnings about the treacherous nature of their voyage, the Essex whaling ship and its crew set off on a journey that ends in tragedy. A monstrously large whale destroys the ship and Mother Nature and her cruel forces push the men into unspeakable acts as they try to survive in gruelling conditions over a 90-day period. Their faith and morality are put to the test as they grapple with their newfound reality that threatens to wipe away their humanity as the ship’s first mate, Owen Chase (Chris Hemsworth), tries hard to keep his sanity and salvage the situation.

Television CSI: CYBER

a feeling he expresses to the amusement of audiences. With the creator of Breaking Bad (Vince Gilligan) and the mind behind House (David Shore) teaming up for the show, sarcasm, wit and humour will abound.

A spin-off of the long-running CSI series, CSI: Cyber focuses on the cybercrime Quantico division of the unit. Played

by Academy Award winner Patricia Arquette, F.B.I. Special Agent Avery Ryan leads her team in solving cyber crimes and capturing the toughest of hackers. This drama has the same theme as CSI but instead of microscopes and high-tech forensic equipment, Agent Ryan and the CSI: Cyber team use computers and the internet to catch criminals.

A sneak peak at this new show was tucked away in the fourteenth season of CSI where Agent Ryan appeared in episode 21 where she assisted the CSI team in Las Vegas with a case. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer shifts focus through the twist of applying psychology to catch technologically savvy deviants and criminals.

AMERICAN CRIME

UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT BATTLE CREEK

In Battle Creek, Michigan, Detective Russ Agnew (Dean Winters, Rescue Me) is fed up with his situation: he is part of an underfunded police force where stun guns fail at the worst possible moments and the available staff are severely inadequate. Meanwhile, in Detroit’s F.B.I. field office, the handsome, beguiling dogooder Special Agent Milton Chamberlain (Josh Duhamel) is about to be reassigned to Det. Agnew’s department.

Unsurprisingly, Milton gains instant popularity at his new post, much to the chagrin of Russ. The two are forced to team up, but Russ remains disdainful of his new partner,

Created by acclaimed writer and actress Tina Fey and screenwriter Robert Carlock (30 Rock), this original comedy series turns a dark idea into the perfect comical plot. Ellie Kemper, known for The Office and Bridesmaids, plays Kimmy Schmidt, a young woman trying to adjust to life in the bustling city of New York after spending 15 years locked up in an apocalyptic bunker underground, under the misguided advice of a cult. She starts to discover new exciting details about life as she tries to recover all the years she lost when she thought that the modern world had been destroyed. The Netflix series is piled with laughs as quirky Kimmy stumbles through modern day life.

lying on the ground. Startled by the event, Garner goes to report the matter to the police after efforts to revive the boy are futile. A turn in the investigation is revealed as the relentless Detective Andrea Cornell (Juliette Lewis, August: Osage County) believes that Garner has something to do with the murder. With its intense plot, Secrets & Lies slowly divulges the growing number of people who are beginning to suspect Garner, including his own wife. Based on an Australian series by the same name, this drama cleverly weaves in surprise twists and intrigue.

SECRETS & LIES

A suburban family man Ben Garner (Ryan Phillippe) is out jogging when he discovers the seemingly lifeless body of his neighbour’s five-year-old son

John Ridley, the Academy Award winning screenwriter for 12 Years a Slave, is the brilliant mind behind this highly anticipated crimedrama. Depicting the ripple effects created when a crime takes place, this is a story of the socio-economic and racial divides that affect the U.S. A community in California is shaken to its core after the brutal murder of Mark Skokie (David Hoflin) and his wife Eve Carlin (Penelope Ann Miller). As the prime suspect Tony Gutiérrez (Johnny Ortiz) gets investigated, Mark’s father Russ (Timothy Hutton, Leverage) copes with the tragedy and his antagonistic ex-wife, Barb (Felicity Huffman). American Crime is sure to take viewers on an emotional journey as it highlights the ups and downs of life in America.

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Music

THE DAY IS MY ENEMY The Prodigy

The Prodigy, the electronic music band which has been around for the past 25 years, returns with their long-awaited album, The Day is My Enemy.

The group’s leader, Liam Howlett, has described the album as “violent-sounding”, adding that it would wipe the floor with the current crop of Dance DJs. Their album will feature collaborations from the likes of Sleaford Mods and Flux Pavilion. The group released an album teaser, a short film titled Can You Hear Me, which served as a prelude to the fast-paced, loud and exciting album that is The Day is My Enemy. The British group now marks this as their sixth studio album since their debut album Experience, which was released in 1991.

REBEL HEART Madonna

Madonna is back with her new album, Rebel Heart, which comes four years after MDNA, which was one of the best-selling album of 2012. The pop icon caused a stir when she released

30 March 22 March ���� 2015 Destination Destination

controversial photos of Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela and Bob Marley’s faces wrapped in a black cord mirroring the album’s cover art, but the Grammy winner later apologised for the misunderstanding. Her thirteenth studio album, Rebel Heart, will include tracks produced by renowned musicians such as Avicii, Diplo, while featuring artists like MoZella and Natalia Kills. An album leak forced Madonna to release six tracks before their intended release date, which included “Living for Love”, a catchy song about continued belief in love despite heartbreak.

STRANGERS TO OURSELVES Modest Mouse

After an eight-year wait, American indie rock band Modest Mouse returns with their new album, Strangers to Ourselves. One of the singles off the new album is “Lampshades on Fire”, a playful, funky tune with background harmonies that will have you bobbing your head in compliance with the music. Modest Mouse retains its infectious tunes as it did with “Dashboard”, an angstridden banger from their 2007 album, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. “Coyote” presents a mellow tune laden with melancholy, which deals out a smoothness that reaffirms the versatility of the band. The dip which appears suddenly in “The Best Room” is in perfect contrast with the force with which lead singer,

Isaac Brock, opens the track.

There is a song for every mood in Strangers to Ourselves.

a living. With the lead singer explaining that their songs are born out of “huge frustration and twisted nostalgia”, there is bound to be something that fans can relate to in Young Chasers.

CHASING YESTERDAY Noel Gallagher

YOUNG CHASERS Circa Waves

With its opening notes being slightly reminiscent of The Ramones, the song “Young Chasers” created quite a buzz and garnering new fans for the indie group Circa Waves in the past months. With their debut studio album dropping this month, the band is set to go on tour in the U.K. this April. This new album by the British rockers identifies with the disenfranchised as it looks at the struggles of youth, dropping out of school at a young age and doing low-income odd jobs to make

Noel Gallagher broke into the music scene as the lead guitarist, writer and co-vocalist of the 90s alternative rock band Oasis, which he founded with his now estranged brother Liam Gallagher.

The band, known for their mega successful hit song “Wonderwall”, called it quits and Noel chose to pursue a solo career releasing his first album, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds in 2011.

His second album, Chasing Yesterday, has been described as having emotional and melancholic themes. This English singer hinted that the album is choc-full of songs that will move you to emotion as they steer you towards triumph. Noel is set to yank at your heartstrings as he displays his musical prowess in Chasing Yesterday.

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THE DARK SIDE

32 March ���� Destination

Terrorist attacks and travel warnings and bans, have resulted in a huge slump in the number of foreign tourists coming to Kenya.

However, there seems to be one group of visitors that appear not to have been put off – sex tourists, who are creating a crisis on the idyllic coastline.

By Josaya Wasonga

OF PARADISE

Destination March ���� 33

T

onight is not my night. The clubs are empty. I guess it’s because it’s a Thursday. I’m headed to a local joint that is a favourite amongst Diani residents. My guide, Ali, swears that Beach Road is a tourism hot spot because it’s chock-a-block with lodges, boutiques, cottages, nightspots ... you name it – from chic to downright cheap and nasty, all meant to be tourist magnets.

I’m club-hopping, hoping for some action ... ladies-of-thenight kind of action, to be precise. I’ve been reliably informed that the evening’s proceedings usually kick off just after 9PM when the disco at this airy venue gets going. Arriving at the venue, the disco is deserted, save for five or six ladies seated in different places nursing soft drinks and sizing us up as I order a Coke and settle into a worn-out makuti seat. They appear bored. I look out over the windswept beach as the moon peers out from behind a swirl of clouds.

Stolen Childhoods

The fact that there are only a small number of women in this establishment is deceptive. According to a recent survey by Solidarity with Women in Distress (SOLWODI) – a nongovernmental organisation that supports commercial sex workers and girls who are at risk, in the coastal regions of Mombasa, Kwale, Kilifi and Malindi – there are an estimated 4161 sex workers in Msambweni District alone, which is where Ukunda is located; or if statistics is your thing; 5.9% of females of child-bearing age (15-49 years of age).

The Digo are the original inhabitants of this area, but successive migrant communities and locals – people who have come to work in the hospitality industry and sex workers from upcountry among them – have turned this once sleepy town on the road to the Tanzania border post, into a bustling pit stop for buyers and sellers of everything from flesh, to fresh ocean air.

Martha Samuel, a mother of two, who now works as a volunteer with SOLWODI, turned to commercial sex work after jobs in the hotel industry evaporated, as tourism was one of the hardest-hit industries in the wake of the violence that followed the general election of 2007. Originally from Nairobi, Martha started her hospitality work as a waitress, before moving into selling sex to eke out a living. “One night, some guys from Impact, a nongovernmental organisation, were trawling the pubs, looking for ladies to help. That was a turning point for me. They took us to seminars and provided us with training. I’m now trying to do the same for other women.”

Gabriel Mukhwana, another volunteer at the Diani location, says that they are inundated. Sex tourism is a monster with many heads, a dragon that cannot be slain in one fell swoop.

Issues such as human trafficking and forced marriages at a very early age (espoused by many coastal locals) often thrust desperate victims into sex tourism.

34 March ����2015 Destination December Destination 48

“Around here, when a child gets pregnant, the first thing the parents want is for her to get married. Sometimes she doesn’t even get married to the person who impregnated her, but instead, to an older man. Desperation soon sets in and next thing you know the girl finds herself in the red-light district,” Gabriel explains wearily.

The 2007 election violence and the 2013 and 2015 terrorist attacks and subsequent travel bans by Western governments, has affected the tourism industry on the coast dramatically (more than anywhere else in the country) and the livelihoods of those who depend on it, to catastrophic proportions, increasing the desperation of those living below the poverty line. Listening to Gabriel, it is frightening how vulnerable many communities in Kenya actually are, and how easy it is for young girls (and boys) and women to turn to sex tourism to survive.

Parental Problems

The influx of women from as far as Kisumu, and even Uganda, keeps the engine of this industry going, but there is also a competitive edge to this trade. Gabriel says when people notice children in their neighbourhood bringing home desirable items, usually purchased with proceeds from sex work, they start pushing their own children to be like ‘so-and-so,’ urging them to get what is euphemistically called a “sponsor,” It is hard to imagine a parent wanting their child to sell their body for money, but for local communities here, desperate times call for desperate measures.

The CRADLE, a non-governmental organisation committed to the protection, promotion and enhancement of the rights of the child through court representation, advocacy and law reform, reported that some families purposefully send their children out to engage in child prostitution in order to put food on the table. When confronted by situations where parents are the enablers, Martha and her colleagues quickly find themselves on dangerous ground. It’s not unusual for them to incur the wrath of these parents who believe that the volunteers are only out to slaughter their cash cows. As such, there is a great deal of resistance to ending what has become a blight on Kenya’s once peaceful coast.

Seasonal Trade

The trade ebbs and flows with the seasons. News spreads through the grapevine when large numbers of tourists arrive, and then so do the sex workers. For example, when a ship docks in the port of Mombasa, with a cargo of big-spending and fun-loving U.S. marines, sex workers – male and female, from across the country – flood the town in the hope of getting their hands on some coveted Greenbacks.

Then there are the cottages, which are the bane of volunteers such as Martha and Gabriel. Behind their steel gates and perimeter fences, where the volunteers can’t enter as they can in hotels and pubs, sex tourism takes on different shapes, sometimes including pornography, sadomasochism, child abuse and even fatalities.

A 2006 report by UNICEF brought the widespread sexual exploitation of children in the coastal towns to light. This not only increased the awareness among hoteliers, but some hotels went as far as signing a code of conduct to help fight vices like paedophilia, making it more difficult for guests to bring child prostitutes into their hotel rooms. However, this may also have created another problem.

Destination March ���� 35

Photographs: John Foxx, Tony Karumba/Stringer

Authorities believe that when the trade has been driven underground, ‘johns’ and paedophiles simply find various new and creative ways to engage in their depravity. A recent article by a resident of Malindi suggested that children are now not only being lured to pristine beaches, but also onto boats for what is being referred to as “deep sea sex.”

Predators have discovered that if at sea, the chance of getting caught by authorities is greatly reduced. The report by UNICEF, also exposed that, rather than the children being stigmatized, sex tourism is regarded as an opportunity by the children themselves, as well as many parents and community members and some authorities, as a potential for long-term livelihood security.

Gabriel feels very strongly about the fact that some parents go with their kids into clubs to fish for clients, some of these youngsters aged only 15. He also tells me of a local guy who regularly wife-swaps with a tourist; they trust each other so much that when this couple visits, the local couple are the only people they do “business” with.

Perhaps on the rise, faster than heterosexual sex tourism, male prostitutes are quickly becoming commonplace along the coast, even offering unneeded competition for the women who re already living on the edge. “Recently, there was a tourist who was all over a guy from this area. He wears studs in both ears and we all know that he’s a male sex worker. He was dragging the local man to a car, saying that he’d spent a lot of money on him and it was time to pay up. The scene is changing. If a female sex worker is waiting for a client, and a male sex worker sits beside her, also waiting for a client,

36 March ���� 2015 Destination December Destination 50

believe it or not, but the guy will probably beat her to it; male sex a workers are in high demand these days.” Martha shares.

Drug abuse has also fuelled sex tourism, because it’s an easy way to get money for a fix. Victims are too out of it to take note of the vicious cycle in which they find themselves.

What are They thinking?

A request to interview the SOLWODI field co-ordinator in Malindi, Agnetta Gitau, meets with red tape. It’s my last day in Malindi and there isn’t much time. However, in her office behind Co-operative Bank, she tells me that I have to write a letter, which she must forward to her boss to give her the go-ahead to talk to me. I email the letter from my phone.

Then I send her two SMSs and call back twice, trying to hurry her along. Time is running out. But then Lady Luck smiles on me. I strike up a conversation with a man selling cold drinks in the street. While we’re talking, a young African man passes by, holding the hand of an older white woman. We start talking about sex tourism. The vendor tells me how the industry has turned Malindi’s fortunes around, and how some locals have also seen their fortunes change.

“Some of the beach boys have flings with older white women. Then they live on easy street. But they forget who’s holding the purse strings. I know of guys who have, plastered like hell, gone to the homes where they’d been living with their catch and started beating their white lovers and ordering them around. These sods only sober up after they get thrown out, and have to return to their old lives.”

Sex tourism has also brought in smarter players, mainly from the mainland; people who mean business. One such

person, the vendor tells me, is a very rich man who owns businesses in Malindi. He came from the mainland with his wife and two children. They had nothing, but then a tourist fell for his wife and the married couple agreed that she’d tell the tourist she was actually her husband’s sister, not his wife. The charade has been going on for years.

Over the past five centuries, Malindi has been betrothed to Chinese, Portuguese and Arab suitors, who’ve all come and gone, leaving only a few mementoes strewn around this idyllic place. The Italians are the latest in this long line of suitors.

The morning after I arrive back in Nairobi from Malindi, I finally get a text message from Agnetta. In a very long-winded way she tells me the interview can’t happen. Well, it’s too late anyway.

Talk of the Town

I am on a matatu (public transportation) heading out of what was once the sleepy town of Mtwapa. A couple waves down our vehicle, sending tongues wagging.

“These are the people who are ruining our girls,” says a woman in the seat behind me. Her companion concurs.

We watch as the couple try to cross the busy road. They’re struggling because the man, who is white with thinning hair, is old enough to be the young black girl’s grandfather. She holds him up, steadying him; her face a mask.

There is no sign of embarrassment or self-awareness. The couple walk unsteadily towards us and an uneasy silence envelopes the matatu as they clamber in.

“Willing chick, willing chap,” the driver whispers, while adjusting his rear-view mirror to get a better look at his new passengers.

Same Script, Different Cast

Dorothie Ogutu was orphaned at 13.

She came to Mombasa in search of a better life, but ended up turning tricks in the red-light district when she was only 15-years-old. That was 15 years ago, and she has now turned the corner in her life, but many others are not this lucky.

Nowadays, Dorothie is the Regional Coordinator of African Sex Worker Alliance (ASWA), a project of the sex workers education and advocacy taskforce (SWEAT), based in Cape

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“Desperation soon sets in and next thing you know, the girl finds herself in the red-light district”

Town, South Africa with members and partners in various African countries including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Dorothie’s core functions are building around human rights, giving a voice and a face to the sex workers’ many concerns, and training sex workers as paralegals.

There’s a lot of unreported violence directed at sex workers, and even when these violations are reported, they are rarely handled as serious offences and given the due consideration that they deserve. Membership of ASWA is open to all and they count people from the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex communities among their members.

Dorothie tells me that in the 1990s, Mtwapa, about 15km from Mombasa on the Mombasa-Malindi Highway, used to be just another nondescript coastal town, one of many along Kenya’s 500KM of coast. Today, Mtwapa is known as “the village that never sleeps.” It has over 400 bars, pubs and lodges and incredibly, it is still growing. All this brought about, in large part, by the sex industry. Over the past decade the “village” has become home to a large number of European retirees and holidaymakers.

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“There are tourists who can’t point at Kenya on the map of Africa, but they know where Mtwapa is. They arrive here and they just want to go to Mtwapa. People call it Sodom and Gomorrah, because it’s not unusual to see girls, barely in their teens, hanging on the arms of 50-year-old men.” The town also attracts local tourists, such as university students from Nairobi. Some of them come to sample what the place has to offer, and there are even some who come to moonlight as sex workers. Dorothie says, “Some of the local communities have what I call Mzungu (white person) Syndrome. A Mzungu has money and will solve all their problems – that’s what they believe. Plus, some parents who work in hotels befriend tourists and bring them to their homes, in essence entrapping them. Some people around here are also lazy... not all of them, just some... and sex work is an easy way out.”

Why Do It?

“Sex work is work,” Dorothie says, breaking it down for my benefit into outdoors, indoors, brothels and home-based sex work (where a moneyed sex worker drives to a rendezvous in her own car to meet a client). “And it’s becoming more and more common, because these girls get rich and now they’re

taking it to the next level.” But don’t think the industry is limited to tourists. In fact, statistics show that the majority ofthe clientele are actually Africans.

In dodgy mnazi (coconut brew) dens, moonshine sellers often agree to have sex to boost their income, with the business happening even in broad daylight and in public places.

At a cafe in a popular area in Nyali, Dorothie and I are chatting, watching the diverse assortment of people wander in and out. Dozens of women have come in, dressed provocatively, donning long weaves and an extreme amount of make-up. Dorothie tells me that the place is a sex tourism haunt, but that it’s mostly just the locals and local Wazungu who know this. It strikes me personally as being obvious.

When a woman orders an orange Fanta soft drink, it’s a code that she’s open to a proposition; she’s fishing for clients.

“I used to work in a cafe, but to make ends meet, I was also a sex worker. Women do it for different reasons – some do it for the money and then there are others who just enjoy having sex,” Dorothy concludes. But for the majority of men and women, boys and girls in East Africa, extreme levels of poverty and lack of alternative opportunities is the gateway to entering into the sordid industry.

From Nothing to Something

Trace Kenya, a non-governmental organisation that works to counter human trafficking and modern day slavery in Kenya, mainly in Mombasa and Malindi, estimates that are as many as 40,000 documented child sex workers on the Kenyan coastline, though the numbers are seasonal in nature, with the highest seasons being October to December and April when tourism is at its peak. A report by End Child Prostitution in Kenya (ECPIK), puts this number to more than 50,000 children who are involved in Child Sex Tourism (CST).

“An enhanced legal framework against sex tourism in source countries, particularly in the USA, UK and Germany, coupled with an enhanced legal regime in Kenya, where it is illegal to engage in sex with children – 18-years and below,” shares Paul Adhoch of Trace Kenya, have been good advances in curbing the problem, although even with the penalties for defilement and CST being made more severe, this has done little to curb the problem.

Adhoch also divulges that contractual sex comes in several categories: Members of the “local communities who engage in contractual sex between consenting adults or assenting children, do not consider it ‘sex work’ even though in many cases it is prostitution or child prostitution, as there is an anticipation of gifts or money in exchange for sex.” The second category which involves outright commercial sex work sees “a lot of upcountry women and girls who engage in sex work for money.” This category also sees a lot of “women and girls from neighbouring countries such as Ugandan, Tanzanian, DR Congo, Somalia, Ethiopians and other nationalities, who are lured to the coast or brought by traffickers for sex work, but are often initially promised work or education support. [This group] forms the bulk of persons involved in sex tourism - mainly because they are more explicit and have no familial boundaries or ties to evoke discretion,” adds Adhoch. The last category falls under the convenient “love relationships" where you see “older partners with younger partners/ of either sex,” and where the older partner is predominantly a foreign tourist.

No matter the recipe, sex trade along the Kenyan coast is endemic and needing to be urgently addressed.

Small World

I am back down in Mombasa, and my time on the coast is almost over. Club Casablanca, Dorothie had told me, was the place to be if I wanted to get a feel for the action. And, true to her word, I discover that the Club is truly a 24-hour entertainment spot, much like Nairobi’s Modern Green.

Sitting alone at a table, I haven’t even taken it all in when I see her; a girl from my own neighbourhood back in Nairobi.

She’s bleached her skin, has a crazy Mohawk hairstyle, is standing tall in gladiator heels, rocking denim hot pants and a halter top that reveals a bellybutton ring, and she has on extra-large silver hoop earrings ... but it’s definitely her. I remember her name. Our eyes meet. Twice. The second time we exchange a knowing look. Then she drags her companion – a lanky Caucasian guy in a T-shirt and cargo pants who’s clutching a Tusker like his liver depends on it – through a pyrotechnic display of strobe lights and smoke where grinding human bodies are grooving to the techno rhythms.

A Humphrey Bogart quote from the movie Casablanca, after which this club was named, echoes through my mind, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this girl that I’ve just spotted is thinking the exact same thing: “Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.”

COASTAL FACTS Another UNICEF (and Kenyan Government) report found that: **A least 15,000 girls in four districts on the Kenyan coast – Mombasa, Kilifi, Malindi and Kwale – were engaged in casual sex-for-cash. ** These girls, aged 12 to 18 years, make up 30% of the total population of girls from these districts in this age range. **A further two to three thousand girls and boys are involved in full-time sex for cash. Some of them are paid to perform the most horrific and abnormal acts. ** At least 45% of the girls in the survey began selling sex for cash, goods or favours at only 12 or 13 years of age. ** While many children are driven into transactional sex because of poverty, the high level of acceptance of child sex work in a significant group linked with tourism and beach commerce makes it relatively easy for children to drift into casual sex in exchange for no more than extra pocket money.

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DAN & ME Twenty Years On

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When celebrated photojournalist Dan Eldon was brutally killed by a Somali mob in Mogadishu in 1993, his life and death forever became part of East Africa’s history. Twenty-two years later, his father, Mike Eldon, remembers the captivating character that was Dan – the incredible personality behind the headlines.

Off James Gichuru Road, tucked within tall trees and surrounded by a manicured lawn, is Mike Eldon’s lovely home. He has lived in Kenya since moving here on a job offer in 1977. His son Dan, who was only 7 years old when they moved to Kenya, is an East African icon and a global inspiration, to say the least. Dan’s life story is one that, to this day, still touches millions around the world.

The senior Eldon is a svelte, amiable man, when I finally get to meet him in person. He dons his reading glasses, which he peers over as though to get a clearer glimpse of me. While I speak with hand gestures, pausing now and then to collect my thoughts, Eldon is quiet in his manner, smiling easily when we converse.

A lot has been written about Dan Eldon – his vivacious personality, love for Africa, selflessness, his journalistic works in different parts of the continent and his love for adventure.

His death was not only a loss of unutterable enormity to his family, his parents and sister, but to close colleagues in journalism, to myriad lives he had associated with and the world at large. My eyes well up somewhat when Eldon tells me of the day he learnt of his son’s death. I feel a sadness that grips me so intensely at that moment, I’m almost embarrassed to have brought it up.

Dan’s story is one that cannot be told by just anyone, but it’s a story that a father can put into words, revealing moments that made up simple things like a road trip, sharing a meal, watching the sun go down, lending a helping hand and dancing to life’s music – the moments that form a life rather than a story. – Helen Kinuthia Gathenji

From the earliest age, Dan was a comedian, someone with a sharp, dry sense of humour – very British and, if I may say so, very me! He was quite a character. Born in London, he grew up in Nairobi from the age of 7 and came into his own while a student at the International School of Kenya. He felt completely at home in Africa – whether filming on River Road or in Kibera; hitching a lift on the back of a truck headed for Samburu; driving down to Malawi in Deziree, his ancient Land Rover; or capturing dramatic photos of the body-scarred South Sudanese around Juba.

Following a trip to the Maasai in the Loita Hills while at ISK, he started keeping a journal, and it was from then that he became a prolific artist and an avid photographer. A hugely charming chap, you could be sure that if he decided to get somewhere, he’d use his charm – OK, plus a touch of bluster if that was also needed – to find a way to do so. He’d manage to take great shots of even the surliest and most resistant of subjects, but not before first making them his friend. Only then would the two enjoy the joint business of one having their picture taken by the other.

Dan lived for his photography, taking his Nikon camera with him wherever he went. Once, when shooting a video feature film in the murkier part of Nairobi around River Road with his friends – and anyone from the area who could be fitted in – a pair of policemen appeared in his lens. Knowing they’d be extremely unhappy, he filmed them until just before he sensed they would explode at him. Then, lowering his camera with an exasperated look, he complained: “Can’t you see I’m trying to film here? Please move aside.” They obliged apologetically.

It was such wily charms that accompanied Dan to Mogadishu in 1992, and that led him to graduate from merely supporting the photojournalists covering the famine there to becoming a key professional for the Reuters news agency.

Father and Son Exploits

In his late teens Dan drove his Land Rover from Nairobi all the way to Malawi, including braving what was then called “the gun run” across a dangerous corner of Mozambique. On his way back up I flew down to meet him in Blantyre, and he and I drove together along the length of Lake Malawi. I wrote about that trip with Dan for an article in the Diners Club’s Signature magazine shortly after we returned – memories uncoloured by later grief or introspection.

One evening we stopped off at one of the small lakeside towns, Nkhotakota, where Dan felt it his duty to help me paint it red. Our first stop was at a nearby bar, which specialised in the sale of chipuku, Malawi’s fermented maize beer. Lavishly, foolishly, Dan bought a carton for each of us. The lighting inside was, shall we say, discreet. A smoky oil-lamp burned in the inner depths of the Kaka Central Bar, mercifully protecting us from the sight of what would otherwise have surely been revealed. Picking our way among the drinkers, we ended up sitting on the curbside, grateful for the fresh air.

I’m proud that despite my sheltered upbringing, certainly relative to Dan’s, I handled my chipuku somewhat better than he did. To put it another way, he was quicker to offer the (substantial) remains of his carton to a willing neighbour.

Detailed market research indicated that we must have consumed about eight and a half pints fewer than the average

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Like us, for many patrons, the Kaka experience was only a prelude to the main event of the evening, a dance with a live band at the community hall. We were guided to the hall, passing a number of other bars en route, all suitably raucous.

Soon we could hear the sound of the band but on arriving at the hall, we found that the musicians were alone inside while several hundred people milled around waiting to be let in.

For Dan, this was too good an opportunity to miss. Having taken the precaution of bringing his ugly (hideously ugly) mask with him, he slipped it on, and struck at the crowd.

The impact was electric! Small children, grown men, scattered in panic. Dan’s performance, honed over endless sorties during his trip, was hilarious, with the crowd wonderfully entertained. The incarcerated band must have been quite perplexed at the commotion outside, and, as elsewhere, someone decided to take offence. “Who has authorised you to do this thing? It is against Malawian culture. You must stop immediately.” And so on. The crowd was not amused by this self-appointed kill-joy, and we tried to keep a straight face.

Dan and I on our Malawi trip, withDecember 2015 33 Destination 42 March ���� Destination Dan’s Range Rover Deziree.

But even the combined charm of the Eldons could not woo our self-righteous friend – the audience attributed it to his total drunkenness. He eventually disappeared though, and the show resumed. Charging, dancing, finger wagging and pointing against supposed miscreants; occasionally removing the mask – to the great relief of the gullible; placing it on the truly brave to carry out their own terrorism; the repertoire was rich and varied.

But all good things must come to an end, and eventually Dan and I sat down, foolishly hoping to blend into the crowd.

The audience, however, was far from saturated. Forming a tight ring around us, hundreds of young Malawians stared expectantly, wishing to be terrified and entertained some more. In the middle of this mob, the two of us somehow chatted quietly to each other, surreally oblivious of our surroundings.

On another evening Dan was determined to get us down to a beach by the lake, a delicate descent.

“You’ll never make it down there,” a man warned helpfully.

“You don’t think so?” asked Dan, keeping the adequately serviceable Land Rover footbrake squeezed.

“No, definitely not. A Land Rover got stuck trying it only yesterday.”

That was enough for Dan. His strange ‘we’ll see’ smile came over his face, and through it, I could feel what was going on in his mind “Does he take my Deziree for just another Land Rover? And does he not know that I, Dan, am at the peak of my late-teen confidence?”

The sceptical guide, with his own line in smiles, was thanked, the footbrake slipped and down we went. So this is what landscapes are like after earthquakes, I reflected, gripping Deziree’s hard surfaces for support.

“Dad, don’t just sit there, get out and direct!” admonished Mr. Adrenalin, his forearms straining to guide his beloved’s steering wheel. Dutiful father that I am, I leapt out of the leaning tower of Solihull, more to give moral than navigational support. I don’t know why Dan and Dez didn’t get stuck or topple over, but many beads of perspiration later, the team reached the base of this, this, whatever it was: my son the hero!

He knew why he was doing it too, for a beautiful beach opened up before us, washed by the fresh-water waves and warmed by the beautifully setting sun.

“You drove down here?” a man asked incredulously.

“Yep,” replied Dan, unfolding the camp chairs so we could relax and enjoy the view.

Some children brought the firewood that Dan had ordered earlier, and we returned to our 4 Wheel Drive Hotel, sitting proudly after its gravity defying descent. By now it was time for dinner, and Dan revealed the choice available from the larder. Even though it made the corner kiosk look like Fortnum and Mason, I’ve never tasted such fine baked beans, cooked on Deziree’s gas stove. More impressive was the bar, from which Dan retrieved a bottle of Malawi Gin. And so there we sat on our private beach, with the moon above and the fire at our feet, nibbling beans and sipping gin. We chatted late into the night, till both firewood and gin were exhausted. Don’t ask me what we talked about, I’m afraid it was too personal and quite confidential. What I can reveal is that two close friends, who respected each other and shared a sense of humour, spent an evening we shall never forget.

Dan tackled whatever he did with confidence, even where, particularly where, others warned him he was biting off more than he could chew. That assumption of success is what made Dan, and it carried others along with him, knowing they could join him in confounding the sceptics. When he got going with a project he always involved others, allowing each one to show they had a contribution to make.

No one remained a spectator as, encouraged by his guiding hand, timidity gave way to boldness. Indeed whenever I think of Dan I allow his spirit and energy to enter me, boosting my own confidence and creativity.

Dancing to Life’s Music

Dan later undertook a second trip to Malawi, this time gathering and leading 14 students to party their way south and then deliver aid to a refugee camp there. Among them were his sister Amy, the youngest in the group, and Jeff Gettleman, now the East African Bureau Chief for The New York Times.

The experience transformed their lives and solidified Dan’s mission statement for the adventure: “Safari as a way of life: To explore the known and unknown.”

This adventure revealed Dan at his best. For him, having a good time was mandatory in all he did. He fully expected to thoroughly enjoy the challenge of navigating through obstinately rejectionist African border crossings; taming a cigarette-smoking, AK-47-toting youth in Mogadishu so as to take a picture of him; or having dinner with me on River Road.

But for him having a good time, however necessary, was rarely sufficient. No, Dan assumed that while having his good time he would also be doing good things. Like bringing aid to Mozambiquan refugees in Malawi, or helping to tell the story of the suffering in Somalia.

The End of a Great Beginning

From the tender age of 21, Dan relished the excitement of covering the biggest news story of the day. In what became the most dangerous city on earth following the 1991 overthrow of President Siad Barre, Dan thrived. He basked in the camaraderie that characterised the brave band of crazy journalists who covered this tragic story, while enjoying the handsome returns he made on his entrepreneurial activities.

But along with all this he witnessed the horrors of first famine and then war, and as with everyone else in this city of senseless violence and death, he was deeply marked by what he saw. “After my first trip to Somalia,” Dan revealed in his book, the terror of being surrounded by violence and the famine threw me into a dark depression. Even journalists who had covered many conflicts were moved to tears. But for me, this was my first experience with war. Before Somalia I had only seen two dead bodies in my life. I have now seen hundreds, tossed into ditches like sacks. The worst things I could not even photograph.”

However, what he could capture increasingly graced the pages of the world’s top newspapers and magazines.

Each time he flew up to Somalia he’d take with him sweets and pens and other items to distribute to children. He felt so at ease in Mogadishu that he reached out to parts of the city where few other foreigners ventured, leading him to become known as The Mayor of Mogadishu.

July 1993, a UN aerial attack on a house where warlord Mohamed Farrah Aideed was believed to be staying took place and more than 70 innocent Somalis were killed.

Survivors of the attack invited the journalists to cover the damage. Dan, along with Hos Maina, Anthony Macharia and Hansi Kraus, went to cover the aftermath of the attack on July 12, 1993. When Dan and his colleagues arrived, the very people they were trying to help turned on them. They were beaten and stoned to death by a Mogadishu mob.

Dan was just 22 when his life was ended.

Before and After

A few months before Dan died, I was involved in an accident that saw me hospitalised with broken ribs and a collapsed lung. He stayed back from Mogadishu to visit me regularly, and when he did so, he would make me laugh so heartily, that I had to clutch a pillow to my ribs to handle the pain. But at least he’d bring me delicacies from around town to supplement the hospital’s dreadful food. Unfortunately, visiting hours excluded lunchtime, except of course for my crafty photojournalist son.

“X-rays for Dr. Ramachandra,” he’d bark officiously at the stern guard, indicating what was actually the rolled-up giant photograph of a gunman in Mogadishu Cathedral that he happened to be carrying. And on another day, with two boxes of pizza tucked under his arm, “Diet supplement for E12.”

Then, dressed in his bartered American army camouflage uniform (having earlier worn it to ease some of his T-shirts aboard a Somalia-bound Canadian Air Force flight), “Colonel Peck, US Marines.”

I first learnt about what happened on that day from a senior Reuter’s manager who was based in Cyprus. It was his terrible duty to tell me that reports had reached them of the death of a number of journalists in Mogadishu, possibly including Dan. He was calling to make sure that I didn’t hear about it from other sources, and promised to get in touch again immediately when they knew more. Somehow I managed to drag myself to a previously planned meeting.

But sure enough he called again, as I was there trying against all odds to focus on the subject at hand, to confirm the worst. I returned home immediately, numbed by the shock, to try to come to terms with the devastating news while also figuring out how to share with others. My daughter, Amy, was 18 when her brother was killed. She was far away in Mexico when she heard the tragic news, and it broke my heart almost as much to feel her grieve for the brother to whom she was so close, as it did to grieve for the loss of my son.

Over the next few days so many people came by to console me, not least Dan’s fellow journalists – the most affected of all. Very few found more than a few stumbled words to express their troubled feelings, and paradoxically as the days went by I found myself being of more help to them than they were to me. I became more eloquent with experience.

It took many years for Amy to feel truly cheerful again. “My big brother was my hero, my protector and my best friend,” she bravely scripted for The Huffington Post in a recent article. “Amidst the sea of insane thoughts that filled my mind when I was told of his murder, the one that made me the most furious was the thought of Dan being afraid. Haunted by the shockingly violent end to his extraordinary life, I kept

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RYAN REYNOLDS

A RARE COM

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R

yan Reynolds has a rare combination of good looks and a wicked sense of humour, a mixture that is more unique than one would think. While we love their work, many celebrities do not necessarily inspire audiences to think, ‘that guy looks like he would be fun to be friends with.’ But whether watching Reynolds on-screen or chatting with him in person, it is impossible not to feel drawn to his magnetism. Perhaps it is likeability? For millions of Reynolds’ fans, he has been portraying characters in films that audiences naturally rooted for, for years. Women have always considered Reynolds attractive, but what perhaps sets him apart from many other attractive male actors is that this blend of physical beauty, good-hearted humour and a genuine good-guy persona make him the ultimate “bro” for men. No matter the character he plays, Reynolds cannot seem to shake this natural combination of qualities – the real Ryan Reynolds – from coming through.

Listening to the actor speak about past projects, there is a sense of pride for his successes but slight disappointment for those films that were created in love and hope, that in their final state did not receive the audience or critical support hoped for. There is a sense in the entertainment industry that Ryan Reynolds has been ‘the next big thing’ time and again, and yet, he is still ‘Ryan Reynolds’, a bonafide movie star with the ability to time and again, deliver a solid committed performance. While Hollywood has been waiting on something magical to happen, Reynolds has quietly continued to make one great picture after another; along with some not so great, think R.I.P.D. Reynolds’ brainchild, Deadpool is about to hit screens this month and a trepidatious Reynolds is crossing his fingers that audiences will turn the much-loved project into a financial success.

Self-referential and R-rated for good reason, Deadpool has been in the making for six years, turning into a personal project for Reynolds, who admits weeping upon seeing (for the first time) the burgundy-red costume of the witty superhero. Acerbic but funny, Deadpool appears to offer not only the fast-paced, blood-drenched action of its counterparts, but bristles with hilarious puns on Reynolds’ own career.

Currently residing an hour north of New York City, Reynolds was born in picturesque Vancouver, Canada, in 1976, the youngest of four brothers, to father, James Reynolds, a policeman-turned-food-wholesaler and Tammy Reynolds, a working mother. When Reynolds was 19-years-old, his father was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, and in 2008, Reynolds joined the fight against the deadly disease by adding his name and involvement as a member of the Board of Directors at the Michael J. Fox Foundation, which leads research for a cure for the degenerative disease. To raise awareness and funds, the actor penned a touching and personal article for Huffington

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Post and ran the New York City Marathon in November 2011. Joshing that he is not a runner but a ‘running joke,’ the actor darted past the finish line some 30 minutes faster than he expected. Similarly, his acting career gained such prime traction, which even by Hollywood’s high standards is stunning.

Reynolds started acting in his early teens, foraying onto the small screen with Florida-shot, Canadian-casted, TV teen drama, Fifteen, in 1991 and with 1993’s Ordinary Magic. On a whim, Reynolds, together with an aspiring actor friend, headed out to Los Angeles and in 1997, landed the role of

medical student Michael “Berg” Bergen in the TV series, Two Guys and a Girl.

Moving to the Big Screen, the raunchy comedy, Van Wilder (2002) definitely put Reynolds on the map but, it was the 2009 workplace romcom, The Proposal, alongside Sandra Bullock, that propelled him into the world’s spotlight. The film was a Box Office hit, catapulting Reynolds to the stratum dreamt of by many young actors; that of media sensation and Hollywood heartthrob. Reynolds went on to garner People’s Sexiest Man Alive title in 2010 and has successfully stayed away from scandal throughout his career.

Amid all of the roles that have left audiences swooning, the one that tops them all for Reynolds, is that of family man – husband to second wife, Blake Lively, and father to 1-year-old daughter, James, named after Reynolds’ recently departed father. Age and life experience have a way of changing our views on things and while still the same funloving, kind-spirited lad that he was before James’ birth, there has been a shift in Reynolds. No well-intended advice, Reynolds says, could have ever prepared him for the adventure and ordeal that is fatherhood.

Off camera, Reynolds is just as you would expect him to be: easy-going, incredibly funny – without many filters – and a total delight. Even with the hits and miss-hits, Reynolds’ long meandering ascent may finally pay off with the wisecracking mercenary, Deadpool.

The journey that Deadpool has taken seems to have been a long one. What drew you to this project and kept you interested?

I think that when I hold a kid in a film now, it’s much different than when I didn’t have a child. There was a lot more acting before, but now I really know what it feels like to hold something so important to you

Oh gosh, you know, a lot of things.

For starters, I just felt … I guess a lot of actors have had that moment where they read a script or back into a character that they don’t even need a script for, they just know. And that is what Deadpool was for me. I’ve always had a kind of weird ability to channel this guy, and he makes me laugh. He’s a character that was timely 11 years ago, and has somehow managed to be even timelier now, because you have such an impossibly savvy comic-book audience.

And not even a comic-book audience,

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it’s just an audience now. I mean, the comic-book movie genre unto itself is, you know, it kind of just came together at the right time, in the right way.

Isn’t it true that in the Deadpool comics, the character had suggested you as the best person to play him in a movie version?

Yeah, and there was another comic where it said he looks like a cross between Ryan Reynolds and a Shar Pei. (Laughs) There’s been a weird, pleasing symmetry between the comic and the movie, and it predates my involvement with it.

The whole preamble for the film is that it’s an origin story of the titular foul-mouthed assassin, Deadpool. There is a lot of swearing in the film and some pretty crass language, and a lot of superhero genre fans tend to be a bit younger, maybe teenagers.

Were you concerned at all when you read the script that you might be limiting some of the audience by all of the swearing in the script?

No, I was concerned that they were going to try and include all of the audience.

I was much more concerned with that.

There are many superhero films, within that genre, to choose from for the entire family, so for me, it just felt like a refreshing change of pace, to have something that is aimed at a slightly older audience. The humour is largely silly; I mean, it’s not something that teenagers can’t handle, it’s not that crazy, but at the same time, it’s not really catering to kids that are 5 or 6-years-old, and that’s fine by me. We have plenty to choose from in that range.

It was, and the studio has been surprisingly alright with all our X-Men and Wolverine references. I find you can always take the piss out of someone as long as the subtext is [that] you’re taking the piss out of yourself, too. The movie doesn’t ever really pick on any one public figure without alternatively taking a stab at Ryan Reynolds.

Are you a fan of superhero movies?

Yeah, they are made by great filmmakers these days and they’re great stories and there is something about them that’s

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Photographs: Guy Aroch

There’s a lot of self-deprecation in the movie, and Green Lantern is a topic that comes up more than once. Was the movie therapeutic for you?

happened to the kid in all of us. I would be reticent to say that Deadpool is a superhero. He certainly doesn’t consider himself to be a superhero. He has superpowers, but he definitely doesn’t identify with being a superhero.

I love the scene in the film when Deadpool is being wheeled toward the theatre and asks that they not put him in a green costume or anything green…

Yeah ,well, the character is … it’s a very metaproperty, so there are a lot of Easter eggs in the script and there are a lot of Easter eggs in the film. There are a lot of moments that are inside jokes and the thing is, many, many of those jokes, everyone will get, but at the same time, there’s a few inside baseball jokes which I think are apt for something like Deadpool.

That costume must have gotten pretty hot by the end of the day!

Yeah! (Laughs) But you know going into [such a project] that it’s not going to be comfortable, but it’s also one of those things that you just don’t complain about. It’s kind of 11 years in the making and everyday that I was in that suit, I was grateful to be there, so there wasn’t a moment where I was like, ‘Oh gosh, I never want to wear this thing again,’ but there were certainly days where I thought, you know, ‘This thing is skin-tight!’ (Laughs)

The hope is that the film will kick off a franchise of Deadpool movies?

I think that it is always the hope for a studio. I mean, we went into it just happy that we got to make this one, so if the response to the material released so far is any indication, then yeah, it sounds like we will be making more of them. Right now it is just all hands on deck for this film, so that’s all we are really worried about right now.

You’re working on The Croods 2 currently as well?

Oh yeah, I’ve been working on that for a while. I love that character.

and he will hit the ball back just as hard, or actually harder. I love doing that show, I love doing talk shows. They are just so much fun, but before you go out there though, they are nerveracking! You’re standing backstage and you’re just thinking, ‘I’m going to bomb, I’m going to bomb, I’m going to bomb,’ and sure enough, you get out there and there is an energy that the crowd brings and you’re on. It’s a nice feeling.

*Reynolds did a fantastic impression of the singer, belting out his high-pitched tunes on the show.

Jennifer Connelly recently shared with us that the green rooms are always very cold on talk shows and that it somehow adds to the nervousness.

Yeah, I think it does, I mean, I’m not wearing a skirt, (Laughs) so it’s easier for me to sort of handle the temperature inside of these talk shows, but yeah, they are always cold. Letterman was freezing. The Ed Sullivan Theatre was just never ever warm. It was always like late December when you walked in there, even if it was the middle of the summer. But that was part of the fun; that was part of the charm, you know? As a kid you always see the guests talk about how cold it is and then one day you’re standing there. Those are always one of those pinch yourself moments. I did Letterman maybe four times and every time I just felt like somebody was going to bust me and I was going to be told that I couldn’t go on the show.

As a kid I worshipped David Letterman, the same goes for Saturday Night Live. You’re standing backstage, you know and you’re hearing them call your name and you’re standing in the very same spot that all of your idols stood. It’s kind of one of those surreal moments that happens every once in a while.

That’s the fun part.

You’ve done a lot of great projects over the years, but has there been any time in particular that you’ve said to yourself, ‘Wow! I’ve made it!’

I don’t think that anybody really assumes, ever, that you are going to do a sequel. I think that it is more of a hope. So, the animated films, weirdly they don’t lock you up for multiple movies, they may just come back to you if the movie is successful and you do it. I mean, you don’t really hold them over a barrel, (Laughs) unless you are a monster. I mean, they are a cartoon, they are easy to do, they are really fun to do, you know? There is no such thing as being too over the top, so it’s just hilarious. And you know, they are the kinds of films that I can show my daughter in a year or two, and she can really, kind of, understand it. For me, selfishly, there is a huge upside.

Yeah, I mean, all the time. (Laughs) My first job I felt like I had made it! Starting out my expectations were pretty minimal actually. (Laughs) I grew up in Canada and in the Canadian film industry. At the time in Canada, they used these arriflex cameras and I knew that all the big American shows used Panavision cameras, so I remember the first time I was on a set where they used Panavision cameras – I felt like I’d truly made it. (Laughs) You always have these weird internal benchmarks that you set for yourself that nobody else would ever give a shit about or understand. But you know, I still do it. Man, I’m 39-yearsold and I’m standing on the Deadpool set being like ‘Wow! I have arrived. This is the moment that I have been waiting my whole life for.’ Hopefully I keep having that moment or that feeling. I hope that never goes away, and if it does, then I shouldn’t be doing the job anymore. I certainly don’t deserve to do the job anymore if that goes away.

You were great on Jimmy Fallon recently. Did you know that he was going to ask you about your Aaron Neville impersonation* or was that impromptu?

Do you ever get star-struck working with people who you grew up watching? Are there any specific people that you have worked with that you just thought ‘I can’t believe this!’?

When you are doing an animated film like The Croods, do you have to generally sign on for multiple films or do studios not necessarily assume that they are going to generate sequels?

(Laughs) I don’t know, I think it was impromptu, I mean, Jimmy is so musical. You can kind of throw anything at him

Yeah, I mean, certainly Denzel Washington was one for me!

On Safe House we were so intimately installed in each other’s

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worlds. That was a big one for me. Helen Mirren, definitely. Jeff Bridges ... I mean, there are always people that you get a little bit star-struck by and, you know, what makes them so good is that they put everyone around them at ease and they make everyone around them better. I remember the first thing Helen said to me was, ‘I’m so f**king nervous,’ and I looked at her like ‘You’re Helen f**king Mirren, you’re not supposed to be nervous. (Laughs) I’m nervous. You are the Queen. You do what you do!’ Those kinds of moments are pretty surreal, and you realise ‘Wow! I guess we are all the same.’ We’re all just very well lit, blood-filled meat suits squandering around on film.

(Laughs)

When you filmed Safe House, most of it was shot in South Africa.

Was that your first time to Africa?

No, I had been there before. I had been to Malawi and then I had also been to Johannesburg (South Africa) as well.

What was your experience like working in South Africa? People often describe Africa as life-changing.

I loved it! It came along at a perfect time in my life where I really needed to get outside of L.A. and immerse myself in a different world and a different role, and South Africa is so different. I loved it. I mean, I loved the people there, I loved the countryside. I had a motorcycle in the movie and I would just borrow it on the weekends and drive up the garden route and sort of check out different parts of South Africa.

I had visited Malawi maybe five years before that. I work with a group called The Friends of the Mulanje Orphans, and there is a woman who runs it named Mary Woodworth who I befriended about a decade ago. I just went over and did some stuff for her I had a really, really nice time.

You will have to take your family over to Africa when time allows.

I would love that! It’s a pretty special place. I’ve got to tell you, there is something magical about that sky too. I don’t think I will ever forget that. That big sky!

most flights are at 35,000 feet. (Laughs) But you just have to deal with it. You just get used to it and white knuckle it and get through it.

Do you remember Rick Astley the British singer from the ‘80s?

(Singing) ‘Never gonna give you up, Never gonna let you down …’ of course! Come on! I was a huge fan.

He gave up his whole career because of his fear of flying.

You know what? He’s not the first; there are a couple of guys I know of. There are a couple of directors I know that won’t fly, and that’s tough when you work in show business or the entertainment industry.

In a number of recent interviews that you have done, you have been asked about being a first-time dad. Is that something that you have gotten pretty tired of talking about by now?

No, I mean, gosh, I don’t mind talking about it. I’d imagine people are probably sick of reading about it. I love being a dad. It is something that is easy to talk about, that’s for sure.

It’s something that a lot of people have done and a lot of people can relate to. She [daughter, James] turned one in December.

You recently celebrated your first Christmas with James.

It’s an interesting age because they don’t really understand about opening presents.

I don’t actually need to wrap anything, all my daughter needs are the boxes, she doesn’t give a shit about what’s in them. She just needs the boxes, or just anything, like any sort of detached cable, like iPhone cable. She could go all day with one of those.

Your social media approach when speaking about parenting is hilarious. You use a lot of sarcastic humour. Has anyone ever been offended?

There wasn’t too much that happened where I was, I was in Southern Indonesia. There was a lot of minor stuff, you know, but nothing that put us in any kind of immediate peril or danger. It was much more scary for my family who couldn’t get in touch with me for about eight days.

Everybody knows that I’m kidding, but people, parents in particular, have that unique ability to talk about their child with the kind of reverence that would be reserved for someone who is fast-approaching sainthood. So I like to kind of (Laughs) take the piss out of that a little bit and having some fun with it. But you know, I rarely do anything on social media that is serious. You’re given 120 characters, what the hell are you going to do with that?

So even on your end of the island, you still had a hard time getting out?

Have you felt [with age and being a dad now], a shift in the types of scripts and offers coming your way now?

You were in Indonesia when the tsunami hit in 2004, what happened?

Yeah, travel in and out of the country was kind of, on a low priority list in terms of services that needed to be happening at that moment. Much more important things were happening.

They were trying to save people’s lives, so you know, communication was down. It was days before anything worked again. It was quite a tragedy.

Like many of us, you have a bit of a flying phobia? How do you deal with it, having to travel so much for work?

I’m fine once we’re up, I just don’t like the take offs or landings. I’m not great with those. Thankfully, the majority of

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I have found that roles have shifted for me personally, by virtue of the fact that I am getting older. I know that there is certainly quite a large chasm in terms of equality in the film industry with respect to roles for women and men, but I do find that as I get older, the roles are getting better. It’s not exclusive to men, it’s just, I see for both sides that the roles can often at times, be a little bit richer, and that’s just because, as you are playing an older character, you have a lot more between your ears. I mean, the characters are written with more between their ears, so they are coming across with a little more depth than you do when you’re

playing a 19 or 20 or 25 year old, you know?

I know that when I was 19, 20, all the way through 25, I thought that I knew everything. But I look back and I just think that that’s totally preposterous now. I’m actually amazed that I am just still alive. (Laughs)

You’ve played a dad already in several roles. Do you think that it changes your performance at all or your interpretation of the role, now that you are actually a father?

I think so, yeah. I mean, I think that when I hold a kid in a film now, it’s much different than when I didn’t have a child. There was a lot more acting before, but now I really know what it feels like to hold something so important to you. So yeah, I definitely think that it helps a little bit and it can also make you a little bit more grounded. You appreciate, ‘I’m not the centre of my own universe anymore.

I have something in my life that is more important than any of the petty bullshit that I can find myself getting consumed by on a daily basis.’ As you know, when you are a parent, you suddenly have this reality check like ‘Ok, oh, I’m not El Capitano anymore. Someone else is.’ In a weird way, that’s the best feeling in the world.

You support the Michael J. Fox Foundation, obviously in support of finding a cure for Parkinson’s*. Are you still on the Board of Directors?

I am, yes. I am probably the least eligible person on the Board because everybody that’s on that board is wildly intelligent or a scientist or some kind of neurochemist or physicist. They got a real remarkable brain trust going on over there. It’s pretty humbling to be amongst that group.

* Reynolds’ father died of Parkinson’s in 2015.

How did your involvement come about? Did somebody speak to you or did you reach out to them?

I forget actually. I know that years ago I wanted to run the New York City Marathon to benefit Parkinson’s research.

I’m pretty sure we just kind of found each other. That, and I’ve had a really nice relationship with them since and I’ve grown quite close to Michael and his family. It’s been something that I am really proud of.

Growing up and watching Family Ties, did you ever think that you would be pals with Michael J. Fox?

You’ve lived in the U.S. for a long time now. Do you consider yourself fully Canadian still?

Yeah, I’ve been in New York for a long time, but you know, I’m always back and forth to Canada. It’s a huge part of my identity and it’s a huge part of my heart, so yeah, I would definitely say that I still identify as a Canadian.

I recently saw Mississippi Grind. Such a great film. Did it get the response you were hoping for?

Thank you! Yeah, critically the movie was reviewed really, really well. A lot of time the victory is that a filmmaker you love sees it and reaches out to you. That’s a really nice feeling. The movie was never a … I’d certainly never classify it as a Box Office hit or a Multiplex type of movie; it’s a Sundance, Toronto Film Festival sort of film. But I love it, I loved those filmmakers and I loved that cast. I mean, I love Ben Mendelsohn and Sienna Miller.

Had you known them before you did the picture?

No, I met them in New Orleans actually, about two, three weeks before shooting. We became best friends, and we are still really close, and he [Ben Mendelsohn] is just a remarkable actor.

Did you ever watch his Netflix series, Bloodline?

Yeah, I’ve seen it. He was incredible in it. He was actually just starting that project when we were shooting Mississippi Grind.

Yeah, unreal, he is a beautiful actor.

You’ve said Deadpool will be the last comic book character you play. Is that still how you feel?

Oh yeah, I’ve had my spin around that merry-go-round more than I probably should have, and I feel Deadpool is something I’ve wanted to do forever, so it does to a certain degree feel a bit like a homecoming to me. And he’s not a superhero; he’s an antihero and something completely different. It speaks directly to the comic book audience, and I’m for that, 100%.

If it were a traditional superhero movie it wouldn’t be for me.

They wouldn’t hire me, let alone me putting my hand up for it.

I’ve done it, I’ve played that kind of character, and it’s time for someone else to do it.

A lot of your characters are ‘good guys’; they are likeable, they are humorous, they are generally rather virtuous. Do you purposely look for these types of roles because they resonate with you more?

I actually called it … No, I’m kidding! (Laughs) I would have never in my wildest dreams have imagined that, so that’s pretty great. It’s also nice, you know, when your heroes don’t let you down. Michael is even more heroic and incredible in person. He is a great guy.

No, not at all! I would love to play the bad guy. I mean, the bad guy is the best part in any movie, so I would love it; I just don’t have the opportunity very often. I certainly have had that opportunity here and there, but those kinds of roles are few and far between. I would love to play a bad guy, especially because I don’t think that I come across as a bad guy, which is why I would make the best bad guy.

Canadians have had a good streak in Hollywood. Is there sense of camaraderie amongst Canadians within the industry?

That’s true, but audiences may get confused, you’re too likeable.

Yes and no, I guess. About as much as any other group of people that find themselves in a different place. I mean, you relate to each other, simply, by virtue of the fact that it isn’t home. A lot of my friends, I’ve been friends with since high school, so nothing much has changed in that regard.

That’s good, that’s what you want in a bad guy. You want your bad guy to be likeable. You want to enjoy hating your bad guy. I think if I could choose a career path, it would certainly be the villain. .

Check out Deadpool, hitting theatres on February 12th.

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HEADING

SOUTH An overland trip through Sub-Saharan Africa can be physically challenging, but you’re sure to find it ultimately rewarding By Alice Audley

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L

eaving behind the promise of springtime in England, my partner Tom and I landed in the thick, intoxicating air of Dar es Salaam, after a brief stopover in Dubai. With two sets of heavy eyelids and backpacks stocked with more than a little angst (mosquito spray, mosquito nets, mosquito everything) we exited the airport as dusk embraced the city.

Beginning the Journey

The smells of burnt corn, fuel and perspiration mingled to overpower our senses as we battled through the crowds of keen taxi men at the airport. On the plane Tom told me that he really wanted to rough it and save as much money as possible; now he was suddenly rendered mute by the sensory onslaught – a pained expression of sheer exhaustion mingled with fear spread over the creases of his face. I battled to whip out some Kiswahili – learnt from five years at school with a Kenyan best friend – from the far reaches of my brain.

Unfortunately “lala salama” and “sitaki asante” weren’t going to be of much use to us in getting a reasonably priced taxi to the three-dollar-a-night dive where Tom had insisted we stay.

With dusk quickly sliding into darkness, I abandoned all hope of getting a good deal and succumbed to the inevitability of being slightly ripped off. Picking the most genial looking driver, we squished our bags into the back of the taxi (despite all the warnings that we should never lose sight of our luggage) and sped off, swerving manically through the oncoming traffic.

“Alice?” Tom had finally found his voice.

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“Yes?” “You know, if you want we could stay somewhere else tonight...I mean…I don’t want to force you to stay somewhere if you’re not comfortable about it.”

“No it’s fine, I don’t mind.”

“But, I mean…really…if you don’t feel like you’re going to be safe...” he trailed off. Turning, I saw a grey tinge of anxiety sweep over his previously flushed face. Understanding his dilemma, I felt sympathy wash over me.

“Well, if you don’t mind, then yes, I would feel safer if we stayed somewhere else.” Relief lit up his face and flashed through his person. A quick bit of tourist sign language was all we needed to change direction and rattle onward to the Mövenpick Hotel. Not quite a three-dollar-a-night establishment, it offered an escape from the manic city centre, even if it was a little austere and business orientated.

There were three restaurants and a suave bar. It could have been anywhere, though. But it was only for a night and the following evening we’d meet up with our fellow travellers and the overland truck that would become our home for almost a month.

On the Road with Strangers

My eyes swung curiously from one person to the next, sussing out who looked like they would be good fun and indeed who looked like they would be rather hard work. Not particularly fussy with a specific type of person, the main reason for my inquisitive estimations stemmed from Tom. Not a patient person, if Tom doesn’t like someone, he makes it clear but whereas in other situations we could just move on, here this was not going to be an option. Attracted primarily to those of a similar looking age, I ventured to break the ice by flashing an occasional smile at the two girls seated opposite us. It was not reciprocated – ‘Great,’ I thought with annoyance, ‘two moody girls, obviously not friend material.’ I moved on.

Next there was a rotund, bearded man who must have been about 35 (who I later found out was called Daniel), he looked approachable, with a Father Christmas-esque vibe. I met his gaze, smiled happily and was met with an awkward, shy blush.

The Azania-front Lutheran Church, Dar es Salaam.

Looking to his right, my eyes collided with an intimidating glare from an equally rotund woman (his girlfriend Olivia) who obviously thought I was hitting on her boyfriend.

‘Wonderful,’ I thought, ‘two stuck-up girls, a wet man and an overprotective girlfriend. This is going to be a fun trip.’

Tired from my failed friendship attempts, I turned to Tom, who I expected to be looking at his feet or gazing off into the sunset, in the world of his own he so often frequents. I was surprised to see this was not the case, in fact, shock and horror is what I was feeling – he was smiling! But at who?

I followed his line of sight and immediately understood, looking upon, for the first time, Laura Wallis. A fair skinned, black haired beauty, Laura had just finished working in Arusha for two months and was travelling with her best friend from school, a gangly, withered boy named Charlie.

Tom’s reciprocal flirting with Laura, I quickly noted, was not appreciated by Charlie, who though asserted that the two were merely friends, was evidently head over heels in love with his travelling companion. The seeds of animosity were sown and a week or so later would come to fruition by the edge of the Zambezi in Zambia.

Initiation

A mere 24 hours later we were sitting around a campfire on a beach, listening to our heavily tattooed blonde group leader, Sasha, lay down the rules of “truck life”. Tuning out as Sasha talked about washing teams and food-preparation teams, I looked around the circle of our fellow travellers. It wasn’t just truck life we were going to be stuck with for nearly a month!

Ranging in age from 18 to 56, and hailing from countries as diverse as Ireland and Denmark, our group was an eclectic mix. Half of us were new at this; the other half had already travelled through Kenya to Uganda and Rwanda and were old hands at “truck etiquette”. The truck team consisted of Sasha, a jocular chef called Jonah, and a thick-set driver called Thomas. Like its driver, the truck was intimidating in its vastness. Khaki green with monstrous wheels, it gave the impression that it belonged in a battle field. Also sitting around the fire were an American couple who had quit their successful jobs in the U.S. to embark upon a world trip before settling down to start a family, a 26-year-old, recently divorced, west-Yorkshire born lass called Shaleene (who would also have an interesting liaison with Tom!) and three 28-year-old Irish men, who had finally got around to the trip that they had planned a decade before. There were also two girls from Denmark – Sine and Kristina – who could often be found singing Danish classic songs at the back of the bus, a good humoured Englishman called Tim, who had come from a three-month voyage around North America, during which he had run short of cash and lived for three weeks by selling his platelets to the local hospitals and a vast, blond-haired Canadian named Jessica, who couldn’t mount the steps of the truck without breaking into a sweat. To round the group off were two youthful girls from Leeds, one outspoken, one shy – Ella and Hannah respectively – and finally a pointy nosed, sharp tongued woman called Louise whose condemnations peppered most truck chat.

Sasha finished her speech with something like, “If we all

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work together as a team your time will be the most enjoyable.”

And with that final nugget of wisdom and badly hidden yawns, Tom and I collected our tent from one of the many cargo holds of the vehicle, put it up with some difficulty, and fell gratefully asleep. We had an early start the next morning, for the first leg of our journey…to Zanzibar!

Island Paradise

We were woken by a rather vigorous rapping on our tent; I spluttered to life. It was unbearably humid inside the tent and I felt the fluid in my lungs. Gasping for air, I scrambled to unzip the tent, inadvertently kicking Tom on my way over.

After a bit of a scramble, we stepped out onto the sand that was already warming in the equatorial sun. Our neighbouring tent vanished with impressive speed and after a series of failed attempts, two of the Irishmen took pity on us, snapped ours shut and whipped it into the cargo hold. Thanking Daniel O’Flynn and Stephan Burke, we’d learnt our first lesson and made our first friends.

After a breakfast of eggs, sausages and miniscule bananas, we were soon aboard the truck to start our new nomadic existence. At the port, we left Thomas and the truck behind and took to the ocean on a rather battered-looking ferry. I have rather dodgy sea legs, so I’m not much of a fan of ferries and boats. I opted to stand outside on the deck, in the hope that a dose of fresh sea air would suppress any queasiness. We were off. Even at speed the salty air was warm as it whipped my hair wildly about my face.

Vikoi on the Beach in Zanzibar

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The sky was a blanket of baby blue flecked with pale clouds.

As we left Dar behind, the water started reflecting the sky and with each minute became clearer, bluer, more idyllic. Perhaps the guidebook was finally going to be on the mark – perhaps Zanzibar really would be paradise! Two hours later we were wandering around the cobbled walkways of Zanzibar’s capital, Stone Town. Narrow streets intersect with even narrower side streets. I thought to myself that Stone Town would have given King Minos’ labyrinth a run for its money as I attempted to get back to the hostel and ended up at the same corner three times.

I decided I could have done with Theseus’ ball of string!

We were to spend the night in this quaint, village-sized capital before heading north to one of the numerous beach resorts for three days of relaxation. After finally making our way back to the hostel and taking a quick shower, we headed out with our Irish friends in search of a restaurant or bar.

We were soon seated in Mercury’s on the pier. Queen’s Freddie Mercury is the island’s claim to fame (alongside David Livingstone) and his name is traded on to the max. The menu consisted of culinary treats such as the Mercury Sandwich and the Mercury Special, and at the bar you could have Freddie’s Favourite or a Mercury Margarita.

A few cocktails later and we were exchanging travel stories and dancing to Queen. We smoked some apple flavoured sheesha and made our way back to the hostel through the dense night air, physically and emotionally content. The next three days were spent at Paradise Blue Resort on the northern

tip of the island. With its crescent-shaped beach, bordered by baobab trees, the resort lived up to its name. By day we swam and lounged on the beach, and at night we sat around a big fire listening to a Rastafarian singer beat out a steady rhythm on his drum. It was here that Laura and Tom’s flirtation grew steadily and it wasn’t long before the two became quite inseparable – to the growing discontent of Charlie. Visiting the turtle sanctuary together, bobbing on matching lilos, Tom was smitten and I was thankful that we were travelling within a group! Befriending the two girls from Leeds, Ella and Hannah, we chattered about the best places to go out in the city (which is where I would be going to university) and which countries were top of our list to visit next. Days mingled and nothing much differentiated the time, so by the second day we’d been lulled into a state of tranquil fuzzy consciousness.

Heading South

A hazy ferry journey brought us back to the truck and a long drive south to our next destination – Malawi. Within half an hour of crossing from Tanzania our surroundings changed dramatically: from the arid lands surrounding Dar, Malawi was green, fertile and lush. Gazing out of the semisteamed window (as we pulled over for the first loostop), in the neighbouring field an ox-drawn cart ploughed through moist soil, whilst in the distance the sun glimmered over abundant crops. With such an agriculturally blessed habitat, I was placed into a state of disbelief as Sasha (with her usual country introduction) informed us that Malawi was the fourth poorest country in the world and that one quarter of its population were thought to be infected with HIV. The ox-drawn cart vanished from view as we chugged along steadily towards Lake Malawi – where we would spend the next five days – and soon the excitement of the surrounding beauty mellowed and boredom crept slyly through the truck. Hour after hour passed languidly as we slowly wore ourselves out with card games. Tom purred in a steady sleep, mouth open, head lolling. I was becoming bored. We’d been travelling all day with the occasional loo break the only pause from the monotony of the road. Rummaging through my rucksack, I took out our itinerary, which had become sand encrusted in Zanzibar, and read: “Day 6 – Today we’ll head onwards to Malawi, passing through some spectacular scenery.

Relax while taking in the wonderful wildlife that lives around here. See zebra, eland, oryx, elephant and more.”

I wasn’t so sure. There had been only glimpses of elephant about three hours into the journey, but they were very far away. Frustrated, I put the schedule back in my bag and tried – unsuccessfully – to get some rest. Two hours after dark, we reached our campsite, a quaint spot on the shore of Lake Malawi. I disembarked from the truck, happy to stretch my limbs. After a quick supper of leftover hog roast (very tasty), we put up our tent and fell asleep.

Waking early the next morning, I left Tom to sleep in as I wandered along the water’s edge. The vast lake stretched out in front of me for what seemed like an eternity. The sun rose rapidly, dotting the surface of the water. The lake is bordered by dense and enchantingly green forest. The delicious aromas of bacon frying and strong coffee hung over the campsite when I got back. Sasha was swaying in a hammock, reading The Time Traveller’s Wife. I greeted her and she placed the

book down on the ant-eaten decking.

“So, what’s the plan for today?” I enquired.

“Well,” she replied, “It’s free time this morning and then this afternoon there’s the option of going canoeing or visiting the local witch-doctor.”

My ears pricked up. I knew exactly which one I’d prefer. So after a morning of lazing about, I was on my way to my first (and what would also prove to be my last) visit to a witchdoctor.

A Questionable Experience

Seated on logs in a sandy clearing, we whispered excitedly before being ordered to silence. Muffled at first, the sounds of cymbals, drums and a tribal hum came flooding across the clearing as the witch-doctor approached. He was a rather emaciated-looking, black-haired, grey-bearded man with a Rafiki-esque stick. Looking penetratingly around the group, he suddenly jumped backwards rather athletically, twisting his elderly frame like a man possessed. His pupils vanished to the back of his head and the whites of his eyes oscillated ferociously as he cracked his stick hard across his side. A piercing cry as if from a wounded animal, then silence.

A few seconds to reflect on what we’d seen, and then a battered hat was handed around. Each of us had to make a donation before being sent promptly on our way, none of us were entirely sure what we’d just witnessed, and rather cynically pondering exactly which part of the performance had been witchcraft.

The Booze Cruise followed by Team Turmoil

As we walked along a rickety pier, money in hand we saw the vessel that we would be spending the following three hours aboard – a double tiered, aluminium roofed barge.

Exchanging our money, we headed to the top level and ordered our first drinks. Not stocking the normal alcopops that I so love, I settled with a vodka lemonade as the three Irish men ordered double whiskeys. Tom and Laura were already side by side drinking some rather ominous looking red wine, whispering to each other – oblivious to the saddened on-looking gaze of Charlie. Watching this time bomb, I quickly became distracted as Ella suddenly started to shout: “There, I saw it just now. There, just there.”

“I think she’s probably had too many drinks,” Louise (sharp tongue) Macafferty replied.

“No, it was there, I swear,” Ella pleaded.

“What, what was there?” I asked as the group hustled together around Ella, who was pointing to a reeded area in the shallows.

“A hippo!”

Sasha joined us and told us that it was quite possible that Ella had seen a hippo and that indeed a few years back someone had fallen off the cruise (in an intoxicated state) and had never been seen again. It was assumed that he had been killed by a hippo. Spurred on by this story (in the terms that there could be a hippo) we all leant over the railing and with hawk-like eyes watched Ella’s spot. A few minutes passed, Louise huffed and left to order another drink and then, just as we were losing hope – up popped the thick grey head of the sea cow. Raising itself higher out of the water, the huge

Destination March2014 ���� 63 Destination September 83

Monkey Bay, Lake Malawi.

64 March ���� 2014 Destination 84 September Destination

he ended up clipping the side of Tom’s ear. Nonetheless, contact had been made. Tom turned, face puce and got to his feet. Jumping forward simultaneously, Ella and I made a barrier between the two as Laura dragged Charlie backwards. His anger quickly turned to emotion as he plunged into the depths of despair apologising to Tom and saying that it would be better off to jump into the Zambezi and end it all. With that he fell to the floor, promptly passed out and was carried to bed by Tom, with a sobbing Laura in tow.

Zimbabwe

The following morning, we crossed the border into Zimbabwe with heavy heads and tired bodies. We camped close to Victoria Falls, which would be our final destination with the group. What better way to conclude the journey than at one of the greatest natural wonders of the world?

Declining waterproofs, we wound our way along the fenced tracks and soon found ourselves gazing at the mighty falls.

Torrents of water rage through the hard rock, ferociously ricocheting left and right. Dense white blankets cloud the Zambezi River below, and from the cloud rises a steam-like vapour, which ascends to the heavens before coming back down to earth, creating perpetual rainfall in the area. We were all drenched, but had smiles on our faces – the sight was simply awe inspiring, sublime. Walking back to the campsite, with the vivid images of the falls imprinted in our minds, the tough hours on the road were a distant memory.

Packing our bags and saying our farewells, I was still under the spell of the place as we boarded our plane.

Photographs: Alice Audley/Jupiterimages

animal turned to face us and with what looked like a wink followed by a yawn, widely revealed a massive pair of white threatening teeth. Time seemed to stop and even the Irish contingent were quiet. After closing its vast mouth, it gave us one more glance before descending into the murky depths below.

“Blimey, would t’cha look at dat,” Daniel chirped, “Dat was great weren’t it?”

A nodded consent from the group and then back to the bar, content with the knowledge that we actually had finally seen an African animal! More drinks and merriment which (as we got back to the pier and disembarked from the barge) subsided to slurred professions of everlasting friendships and assertions that the truck was the best home we’d ever had.

All worse for wear, we (except Louise) ventured back to the neighbouring hotel and its bar and adjacent pool. Shots were ordered in bulk and we toasted each other repeatedly. It was perhaps these shots that brought about the turning point for Charlie who suddenly saw red and demanded to see Tom outside. Though tall, Charlie must have weighed about 54kgs and really not of a fighting build. Considering that Tom was twice the size and boxed regularly, odds backed him.

“What’s up Charlie?” Tom asked, genuinely slightly confused (despite the fact that I had warned him of my suspicions).

“Outside,” Charlie slurred.

“I’m not going to fight you,” Tom responded and turned back to Laura, who bore a rather anguished expression.

It happened in slow motion. Charlie lifted his puny arm and launched it with all his might at the back of Tom’s head.

Fortunately his spatial awareness was alcohol impaired and

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Destination March ���� 65

66 March ����2014 Destination 26 November Destination

The bombings, killings and kidnappings due to al-Shabaab’s reign of terror in Kenya had never affected Daniel Njuguna Wanyoike directly – these were incidents he’d only watched on the news. But, for two and a half years, he learned firsthand what it means to be held captive by the terrorist group, when members of the militia abducted him as he crossed into Somalia By Anthony Kuria

Destination March2014 ���� 27 67 Destination November

Abducted

Since the days of Mohammed Siad Barre, a military dictator who ruled Somalia from 1969 to 1991, and Mohammed Farah Aidid, a factual leader who ousted Barre, the Horn of Africa has never known peace. War, abductions and numerous accounts of piracy off Somalia’s coast, for ransom, have become the norm.

To bring Kenya’s tourism sector – the country’s second largest economy earner after agriculture – to its knees, alShabaab began targeting tourists. In September 2011, two Britons, David and Judith Tebbutt, were abducted from picturesque Kiwayu, north of Lamu, while on holiday. David was killed by the kidnappers while Judith, who was held captive for six months, was rescued and lived to tell the tale.

Sixty six-year-old Marie Dedieu, a French nationalist, was kidnapped from Manda Island in Lamu by al-Shabaab on Oct. 1, 2011; the same month the two Spanish aid workers were abducted. Dedieu died in captivity. It is such volatility that compelled Kenya to send the KDF into the troubled region in October 2011, and has remained there ever since.

But al-Shabaab has continued to retaliate, and the kidnapping of Kenyans and foreigners has persisted, as have targeted terrorist attacks on Kenyan soil.

Ten days after the Oct 1 incident, on Oct. 11, 2011, Wanyoike, who’d been preparing to deliver relief food and

68 March ����2014 Destination 28 November Destination

The Torment

Wanyoike’s demeanour changes the instant I ask him to relay his ordeal at the hands of the militia. The fear is still plain as day as this is a nightmare he does not want to dredge up. He shifts in his chair uncomfortably before he launches into the incident that took him away from his family for two and a half years.

As soon as he stepped on the ground he was blindfolded and tossed into the trunk of a Toyota Land Cruiser which immediately sped off further into Somalia. “My hands and legs were tightly manacled with chains,” he says. Curled in a

Photographs: Tony Karumba, Nick Ysenburg

B

linding clouds of dust rise around the heavily armed gunmen stomping their feet in tandem. Chants of ‘we are terrorists’ and ‘we are al-Qaeda’, coupled with the jiggling sound of their bandoleers, rent the air. These men are now part of the al-Shabaab as they have just completed their training in the Somali desert.

During pass out – as the militia trains like a real army – they get an exclusive visit from the official al-Shabaab spokesperson, Sheikh Ali Mohamoud, who doles out words of encouragement to the ‘graduates’. As the militia files out, it proudly raises the al-raya, the official flag which has a Shahada – an Islamic creed declaring belief in the oneness of God and the acceptance of Muhammad as God’s prophet – inscribed in white. Almost all 300 terrorists are waiting to join the Suicide Brigade, a unit hell-bent on carrying out suicide missions in Kenya.

The al-Shabaab’s reign of terror in Kenya began in October 2011 when the Kenya Defence Forces, (KDF) under Operation Linda Inchi (Protect the Country), infiltrated Somalia in pursuit of terrorists that had kidnapped foreign aid workers from Kenyan soil – the two Spanish women who had been abducted had been working for Médecins Sans Frontières or, as it is commonly known, Doctors without Borders, in Dadaab refugee camp.

This is the organisation that had contracted Shibli Enterprises Ltd where Daniel Njuguna Wanyoike had been a truck driver’s assistant. Although he had travelled out of Kenya to deliver relief food and medicine to neighbouring countries before, Wanyoike never thought that he would fall victim to the militia the day he crossed the Kenyan border into Somalia for the first time.

drugs to Afmadow, Somalia, did not think that the same fate would befall him – it did not occur to him that it would be the last time that he would see his friends and family, for 918 days.

The former farm hand had heard tales of the war-torn country and the civil strife caused by the gun-toting alShabaab insurgents. On previous excursions, he and Ali Mohammed, the truck driver, had made deliveries to other countries in the region, including, Burundi, Uganda and Sudan, and thus didn’t consider this a unique or dangerous delivery.

Wanyoike, who was living in Eastleigh, Nairobi – an area of the city predominately made up of ethnic Somali, at the time, needed to make these deliveries as he had two families that looked to him for sustenance. “I was getting a monthly salary of KSH 10, 000. The money supported Esther Wambui, my wife of two years, my then 1-year-old son, James, and my parents here in Murang’a,” says the 28-year-old.

Before embarking on their journey that morning, he carried out routine inspections of the truck and when Mohammed arrived, they made a last customary check of the consignment before they set out for Somalia.

Although it wasn’t a well-paying job, Wanyoike had developed a passion for it, as it exposed him to different cultures across the region. “Delivering medicine and relief food was a good cause [and] I did not consider myself [an alShabaab] target.”

The journey had no hiccups as they passed Garissa, Daadab and Liboi, before they crossed into Somalia. At Marera, Somalia, they were joined by other truckers on similar missions. It was in this little town that all hell broke loose.

“We negotiated a bend and came to a road block made up of logs. Mohammed and I came face to face with heavily armed attackers. I think there were about 20,” a forlorn Wanyoike narrates. One of the men was waving a black flag with an inscription in the middle that Wanyoike couldn’t understand, as it was in Arabic. Wanyoike’s heart pounded so loudly that he could literally hear it beating. He didn’t have to ask Mohammed to know that the men in front of their truck were members of al-Shabaab. ‘I am just an assistant who hasn’t been trained to handle such situations,’ he thought, as a frightened, deathly quiet, Mohammed sat stiffly next to him.

The attackers, whose faces were covered by black knit masks, shot in the air, as they ordered them to open the doors.

When they did, the truckers – even those in the vehicles behind Wanyoike’s – were violently dragged out of their seats.

“They asked us our names,” Wanyoike relays. Mohammed, a Muslim, was released immediately. He made the delivery and returned to Kenya unhurt, but Wanyoike’s world quickly turned on its head.

foetal position in the trunk, Wanyoike estimates that the kidnappers drove for close to three hours before they reached their destination. He was dragged from the boot and frog marched into a stuffy building where his blindfold was taken off before he was flung into a three by three foot cell.

And, before he could get his bearings, the beatings started.

“They mercilessly whipped me while asking me if I was a spy or policeman working with the Kenyan security intelligence.” The men torturing him were dressed in military garb – jungle green trousers, heavy jackets and kaffiyeh, a checkered head wrap that is commonly referred to as Arafat.

While the rest talked in Somali, a man Wanyoike took to be the leader – who seemed educated – spoke English in an authoritative voice. “The leader explained that I had been captured as a result of KDF’s involvement in Somalia and as the others beat me, he asked whether I was an informant of the Kenyan government.”

Wanyoike’s reply – as much as he was in pain – was always “No” but the militia was hell-bent on breaking him so, other than being whipped, he was denied food and water, and an essential like taking a bath became a luxury. The beatings would only stop when the leader translated Wanyoike’s responses from Kiswahili to Somali – if they weren’t satisfactory, they’d continue. He continued pleading with them to release him, as he was neither a police officer nor an informant. “Although I thought I was going to die due to the hunger and pain, I never changed my story,” he tells me.

And, as hope of seeing his family and friends began to wane, to his surprise, after two months, the kidnappers brought in another captive, James Kiarie Gichuhi, whom they had abducted in Dadaab. “He told me he was captured in Dadaab where he had been delivering alms for CARE International, a nonprofit humanitarian agency that delivers emergency relief in third world or war-

torn countries.” But, unlike Wanyoike who was transferred to a different car, Gichuhi was driven in his own vehicle into Somalia.

With no clock or calendar in the small room, the two lost all sense of time as days went by. Wanyoike isn’t sure how many days they spent in that cramped space before they were moved to another equally dilapidated cell in the dead of the night. The beatings, although having grown infrequent, continued as the kidnappers only let up during Islamic holidays like Id Ul Fitr.

“But they continued to ask us questions about how the KDF operates and their next target, as they whipped us.”

When they were moved, Wanyoike began counting days as he could see daylight through a crack in the wall.

The two were held in that cell for nine months where Wanyoike was taken ill several times due to the inhumane conditions they were forced to live in.

“We were given meagre amounts of dirty water to drink. Sanitary facilities were non-existent. Our bodies went unwashed for a long time. Lice and

bedbugs were in plenty.” His health deteriorated and he fast became a shell of the once vibrant man that he had been a year before he was captured. But, when he developed typhoid and grew too weak, one of the kidnappers gave him medicine. “The man was older than the others and he was thin,” Wanyoike explains. “His face was covered with a kaffiyeh but his eyes were a deep brown and they looked merciful.” But that was the only show of compassion he received because, as soon as he could walk, they were on the move. Shackled and blindfolded, again, they were thrown in the trunk of a car and this time the journey took three days.

When they reached their destination, conditions didn’t change, if at all, they worsened. The two men ate the meagre food that was provided irregularly and slept on the floor in the tiny cell, which they also used as a bathroom, for a whole year.

The militia, through their own spy intelligence, heard that the KDF was fast closing in on them. “The al-Shabaab had heard that KDF was

Daniel Njuguna Wanyoike (middle) with the Area Chief, Titus Mwangi (right) and the Assistant Chief, Grace Kimemia (left) at his father’s farm in Murang’a, after he was rescued by the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) from al-Shabaab militants, who held and tortured him for 918 days.

“They mercilessly whipped me while asking me if I was spy or policeman working with the Kenyan security intelligence” Destination March2014 ���� 69 Destination November 29

planning to attack the hideout and this was why we were being taken to a new location,” Wanyoike explains.

During this time, Gichuhi and Wanyoike had become friends who knew their fate in the hands of the alShabaab was uncertain. The two lived in fear. But, their luck was about to change when the militia decided it was time they moved to a new hideout.

The Rescue

The kidnappers ensured that they were blindfolded every time they were moved to a new location. Wanyoike and Gichuhi were dragged from their cell and bundled into a van with tinted windows which sped down a bumpy road. Lying on the bed of the van, the two were drawn from their thoughts by a commotion outside. ‘Our time to be executed has come’ Wanyoike thought as the van came to a screeching halt.

Confusion set in when they raised their heads and, even though blindfolded, saw the blaring light seeping through the van’s dark windows.

The van’s double doors suddenly swung ajar and, as the blindfolds were taken off, the vehicle was flooded by light. “Our eyes took time to adjust to the bright light. We still were not sure what was happening,” Wanyoike divulges.

The abductors, who had jumped out of the van, got into a scuffle with the men who’d interrupted their transportation. When they realised it was the KDF, as Wanyoike puts it, “they ran faster than a sewing machine needle.”

KDF unchained the two men and gently lifted them from the van and a shell-shocked Wanyoike made the trip to their camp in utter silence. At their base, the two were given a medical checkup and fed. “Food and water were in plenty there. It was heaven compared to the hell we were put through by our kidnappers for almost three years,” he explains, a small smile playing on his lips for the first time since we began talking. After three days, and this came as a surprise considering their living conditions for the past two and a half years, the medical staff at the KDF camp gave them a relatively clean bill of health.

Wanyoike didn’t believe that he was going home until they were airlifted in a military chopper. “The chopper landed in Eastleigh, my home area, but in this

70 March ����2014 Destination 30 November Destination

instance it was at the military barracks.”

After three more days at the Eastleigh Air Force Barracks, they were driven in a military vehicle to CARE International’s Kenya headquarters in Nairobi where they were reunited with their families.

For two days, CARE counselled them and, on April 17, this year, the two men who had gone through the most inhuman ordeal and survived, said their goodbyes and headed separate ways to start their lives afresh.

All’s Not Well

Wanyoike’s joy was short-lived though.

Since his landlord had rented out the house he’d occupied in Eastleigh, his parents took him back to Murang’a where they informed him that his wife had left. Since he came back, Wanyoike hasn’t seen his estranged wife or son. “I yearn for my son. I tried several times to get in touch with my wife but she did not reply my calls so I gave up,”says Wanyoike, who still has a youthful expressive face that contorts sadly as he mentions his son.

The extreme desert weather also affected his health – a fact he found out after getting home. When it gets cold in Murang’a, his feet start dripping fluid, thus he’s forced to soak them in hot water for the numbness and swelling to Clockwise – Grace Njeri (sister), Ruth Wairimu (mother )Titus Mwangi (brother) and nephew: Wanyoike’s family who had lost hope of seeing him again after two and a half years are ecstatic and relieved to have him back.

subside. He is usually in excruciating pain which lessens when he rubs down his feet with a cloth dipped in warm water.

Wanyoike has been jobless since he arrived home as, due to his condition, he can’t take on physically demanding jobs –he was a lumber jack’s assistant for a few days but resigned because lifting sawed-off trunks and wood aggravated his injuries further. This explains why he was walking with a limp when I first met him.

“I want to piece my life back together but that seems like an impossible task.

My former employer, Shibli Enterprises Ltd, offered to help but they have never come through and Mohammed, the truck driver, does not pick my calls.”

Wanyoike had been a casual labourer who wasn’t under contract with Shibli therefore he can’t get redress from the company.

“I would appreciate if the government or any well-wisher out there would help my family and I,” he pleads before revealing that his parents sold all their cattle and property to fund his search.

Despite all his troubles, Wanyoike is glad to be alive. He knows that not many who have been kidnapped by terrorists have lived to share their experience. Terrorists are running amok around the globe – James Foley and

The two men ate the meagre food that was provided irregularly and slept on the floor in the tiny cell, which they also used as a bathroom, for a whole year Steven Sotloff, American journalists, and Herve Gourdel, a French tourist, were beheaded after being kidnapped

by ISIS militia in Iraq. Their decapitations were broadcasted live and video clips of the beheadings were uploaded on YouTube.

According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in 2011 – when Wanyoike was captured – Somalia had over 2,527 kidnappings, followed by Afghanistan with 902. Nigeria, where we have the Boko Haram, Pakistan and Iraq have also been named terrorism hotspots.

Wanyoike appreciates that even though he hasn’t fully recovered, he is alive and well. But, in a quiet voice he tells me “I would not wish this on anyone.” And after listening to him, it dawns on me why his parents rarely let him talk to the media.

“We cannot let you proceed with the interview. My son is still recovering

from trauma as you can see. We are, as a family, still recovering ourselves,” John Njuguna, Wanyoike’s father had told me when I arrived at his homestead.

Wanyoike, a class eight drop-out also suffered severe psychological trauma while in Somalia and dredging up the memories, his father tells me, worsen his condition.

“The nightmares are real,” Wanyoike says as his father reclines in his chair.

“Heavy gunfire keeps ringing in my head. It is a recurring feeling I cannot seem to shake off. I am mentally tormented.”

Professor Gathogo Mukuria, a psychologist and lecturer with the University of Nairobi’s (UoN) Department of Psychology says that Wanyoike, even after being back for six months, is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

“People who have PTSD may feel stressed or frightened even when they’re no longer in danger. It develops after a terrifying ordeal that involved physical harm or the threat of physical harm,” the Professor reveals. PTSD may manifest itself in an individual who’s been harmed or in a person who’s witnessed a loved one – or even a stranger – go through a tragic event.

PTSD was first brought to public attention in relation to war veterans, however, it can occur due to a variety of traumatic incidents, such as muggings, rape, torture, abduction, child abuse, bombings, or natural disasters.

“Loud sounds could make such people scared. Such sounds remind them of gunfire or the dehumanising conditions they underwent in captivity.

That, coupled with sudden integration into an environment they had left a while back, makes it extremely difficult to reconcile with reality,” says Professor Mukuria. Also, according to the lecturer, persons with PTSD need a lot of care, company, patience and counselling in order to heal the psychological scars – and this may take years.

On Thursdays, Wanyoike travels to

CARE for free counselling sessions and is given KSH 1,000 which he says is barely enough as he is currently unemployed.

Therefore, to save money, he walks from his home to Murang’a town before taking a bus to Nairobi for his weekly counselling session. “It is painful to walk long distances because my feet hurt.”

Despite all this, Wanyoike’s parents, who, after two and half years, thought they’d never see their son alive, are ecstatic that he is back home. “We thought he had died in captivity but we still had hope of at least burying him. But he came back a changed man,” Njuguna shares. Before he was kidnapped, Wanyoike had always had an easy smile and he’d been very loquacious; the man who came back from Somalia was quiet, withdrawn and had lost the easy smile.

“We pray to God everyday for his full recovery and that he finds someone to help him at least get back on his feet,” says Njuguna.

Grace Njeri, Wanyoike’s sister, echoes their father’s sentiments.“I pick tea leaves for a living. David cannot do the same due to his health condition. My heart aches when I see him in pain.”

Forging Ahead

Even though it’s at a snail’s pace, Wanyoike is getting better, mentally at least. When he came back from Somalia, he attended church meetings where he received counselling – which he says didn’t help much. But the weekly meetings at CARE are yielding results as he has started opening up and his social skills are improving. Although Njuguna was against our meeting from the get-go, he even asked his son whether he was sure he wanted to talk to me, Wanyoike’s quiet reply had been, “I was waiting for you to start asking the questions immediately you sat down.”

He might still be tormented but every week Wanyoike shows up for the meetings is a sign that he wants to get better and lead a normal life once again.

A feat he believes, with the help he is getting now, can be accomplished.

Destination March2014 ���� 71 Destination November 31

flashback

This month in History Destination takes you back in time to discover the most significant events that were happening around East Africa As part of the Partition of Africa, Germany claimed the Tanganyika Territory as its own and was accorded formal recognition at the Berlin Conference. Following the announcement by the German government that it had granted an imperial charter to Carl Peter’s Company (signed by Chancellor of the German Empire Otto von Bismarck on Feb. 27), the government began working to establish a colony in East Africa on March 3, 1885. However, despite the discovery of gold in Lake Victoria in 1894 and the construction of the Usambara Railway in 1888, German East Africa never provided the resource and monetary gains that the German Empire had expected. The colony ended when Germany was defeated by the British during World War I in 1919.

Robert Baden Powell Forms the Boy Scout Association

Robert Baden Powell, one of Kenya’s most famous former residents, was a renowned soldier who had travelled throughout most of the British Empire in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including India, South Africa and, of course, East Africa. While fighting on Africa’s Gold Coast, he wrote Aids to Scouting, which was essentially a guide to conducting reconnaissance missions. Years later, after finding out that the UK based youth group The Boys’ Brigade was using it, Baden Powell decided to rewrite the book for a younger audience. Hence the scouting movement began. Baden Powell, a household name in Kenya, came to settle in the country in 1938 in a house he had built and named

Kenyan Government Introduces the Florin Coin Due to the soaring value of silver after World War I, East African Rupees, which were made of silver, became more valuable than shillings under the sterling pound system. Because of this, the colonial Kenyan government had to fix the rupee at 2 shillings, which became known as the Florin coin. Anger spurred when the value of the silver fell, but the Colonial Secretary would hear nothing about maintaining the Florin conversion, so the East African Shilling took the place of the Rupee the following year. One is lucky to find a Florin coin today due to its short-lived period, especially as few coins were produced during that time. In 1966, the three East African countries replaced the East African Shilling with their own: The Kenyan Shilling, the Ugandan Shilling and the Tanzanian Shilling. The bullion value of the Florin lies at KSH 566 today.

‘Obelisk of Axum’ returned to Ethiopia by Italy

The 1,700 year old, 78 foot, 160 tonne granite stele was taken to Rome as loot during World War II. In old Axum, these tall structures were used to mark underground burial chambers, and the larger it was the higher the social status of the person buried there. Being a seismic zone, many stelae in Axum collapsed, the Obelisk of Axum being one of them. It was reassembled and put up in Porta Capena Square. In 1967, Italy agreed to return the stele following a visit by Emperor Haile Selassie in Italy. Due to technical difficulties, its return was delayed for 50 years but the stele was finally returned, dismantled in three pieces, in 2005.

MARCH 2012

Photographs: Getty images/ThinkStock

2005

APRIL

MARCH 1920

1910

APRIL

MARCH 1885

➧ ➧ ➧ ➧ ➧

Germany Annexes Territory in Tanganyika

72 March ���� Destination

Oil Discovered in Kenya

For the first time in history, explorers encountered oil in Kenya. President Mwai Kibaki announced on March 26 that Tullow Oil Plc. found a net oil pay in excess of 20 metres in the Nakukulas area of Turkana County at a depth between 846 metres and 1,041 metres. In his speech, Minister of Energy Kiraitu Murungi explained how the discovery of oil by the Tullow came after a frustrating search that had evaded many previous explorers. Before Kenya, Tullow had also discovered oil in Uganda. In December the same year, Kenya announced its second find at the Twiga South-1 well, still in Turkana County.

Photographs: Wikimedia Commons

Destination March2014 ���� 735 Destination September

SAVED FROM A THE AFRICAN HERITAGE HOUSE

By Kari Mutu

74 March ���� Destination Destination 56 April 2015

A TRAIN WRECK

Destination ���� 75 DestinationMarch April 2015 57

A

little more than a century ago, Mugo wa Kibiru foretold that the coming of an iron snake would bring with it a people who would take away the land of the Kikuyu. In mid Jan. 2014, Alan Donovan found out that this time around, the second coming of the iron snake, a.k.a. the railway line, would threaten an area of land that he held dear.

As Donovan was having lunch al fresco with friends at his home, something unexpected happened.

“A police officer with an AK 47 suddenly walked [in and] I asked him what he wanted,” recalls Donovan.

The armed officer informed Donovan that he would have to vacate his house because it was to be demolished to make way for the coming railway line. The officer was referring to the construction of the Mombasa-Nairobi standard gauge railway, a flagship project under President Uhuru Kenyatta’s leadership which began in 2013 with expected completion in 2018. The blueprint for the railway line indicated that it would snake right through Donovan’s house and that of his neighbours as it made its way from Kenya’s coastal town of Mombasa to the capital city Nairobi. The construction of the railway line is a joint effort between the Government of Kenya and a Chinese construction company, which is expected to enhance regional trade in East Africa by expanding the transport network system and is estimated to cost taxpayers a whopping KSH 340 billion.

With such large sums being invested in one of Kenya’s largest projects, what odds did the African Heritage House that Donovan helped establish have at survival?

And so began the battle to save what is described by many as “the most photographed house in Africa”. To anybody familiar with Donovan, the impending demolition of the African Heritage House with its trove of priceless African artefacts must have seemed like a nightmare repeated. The story of the African Heritage House is the story of one man’s lifelong quest to preserve the rich art and cultural history of Africa.

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A Man on a Mission

It all started in 1967 when Donovan was sent to Nigeria by the U.S. government to work as a food-relief officer during the Biafran War. Two years later he resigned from his post, but instead of returning to the U.S. Donovan bought a Volkswagen bus in Paris, drove to Morocco, through the Sahara to Nigeria.

He encountered numerous cultures along the way, bought an assortment of beads and body ornaments and became fascinated by the distinctive architecture of the region. The seed had been planted and with a group of friends, Donovan decided to travel through Africa. Crossing the Congo, they arrived in East Africa and while his companions drove on to southern Africa, Donovan remained in Kenya: “I received a permit to tour the [former] Northern Frontier District.” He wanted to explore an area not much visited by other people; the area, formerly known as the Northern Frontier District

(NFD), which covers much of northeastern Kenya, is a semi-desert region of mostly untouched wilderness with a low population. “The people had never seen a non-Turkana, never seen a mzungu,” Donovan says in his mellow voice, describing himself with the word ‘mzungu’ used by many Kenyans to describe a person of Caucasian origin.

Despite the unfamiliarity with him, the Turkana welcomed Donovan into the area and the curious traveller in him, became increasingly amazed by the intricate life that the Turkana people had carved out for themselves in the desert and with their artefacts made from natural materials. With a wistful look, Donovan reminisces, “They took me crocodile hunting, we melted cooking pots to make jewellery, I got crocodile teeth and a python vertebra.”

A Passion Realised

The region had gripped his heart which led him to sell his van and go back to

NFD, buying a selection of indigenous items during his journey. Returning to Nairobi, he decided to exhibit his items in a collection about northern Kenya. “It was in the Studio Art 68 on Standard Street, below Gallery Watatu in Lonrho House,” he describes the first exhibition which took place in Oct. 1970, a turning point for Donovan, “Only one African came: Murumbi.”

When he uses the name “Murumbi”, Donovan is referring to the late Joseph Murumbi, Kenya’s second vice president. By the time of their meeting, Murumbi had left politics but remained in public service as the chairman of the Kenya National Archives, which stores a collection of documents and artefacts from Kenya’s colonial period up to independence. Murumbi was immensely passionate about African art and culture, partly from the exposure he gained while he was Kenya’s Foreign Minister. Over the years, the former vice president and his wife Sheila would

amass a huge collection of African art, possibly the largest private assortment of rare African art and crafts. “Murumbi asked me what I was going to do next.

I said, ‘Go back to the US and get a job.’” Murumbi, who was quite amazed by the collection on display, convinced Donovan to stay on and make another trip to the NFD. So it went that Donovan remained in Kenya and changed careers: “I went to Mombasa to a place called Bombolulu run by a former US Peace Corps volunteer [at the time].” The Bombolulu Workshop and Cultural Centre equipped people, disadvantaged by different physical impairments, with vocational skills such as carpentry and jewellery making. “I was the only one with two arms,” Donovan explains, “Some people had no legs, some were blind.” In Bombolulu, Donovan trained as a jewellery maker and with his new skills and jewellery, he hosted another exhibition at Studio Art 68 and The African Heritage House

gained more exposure to art lovers and connected patrons. His African crafts business took off: his creations were exhibited in tours around America, he got blacksmiths from the Gabra ethnic group of northern Kenya to melt old cooking pots to make jewellery and hired local artisans to create more pieces to meet the orders from retail shops around the world. Seeking to quench his thirst for Africa, Donovan continued to traverse the African continent in search of indigenous pieces, designing costumes using African textiles and accessories as his business continued to flourish.

The Art-Loving Trio

As fate would have it, Murumbi and Donovan’s paths crossed again in 1971 when Murumbi saw one of Donovan’s pieces – a magnificent Nimba fertility mask from Guinea – in a shop window.

“Murumbi said to me, ‘My dream is to set up a Pan African gallery’,” Donovan recalls, smiling. Thus began the long friendship between Donovan, Murimbi and his wife Sheila. They co-founded the African Heritage Pan-African Gallery, which was officially opened in January 1973 by Margaret Kenyatta, the then Mayor of Nairobi and wife to the first President of Kenya, the late Jomo Kenyatta. The Nimba mask became the logo for African Heritage Gallery which at one point is estimated to have employed 500 artisans.

The three – particularly Murumbi – supported many of East Africa’s pioneer artists of the 1970s like Elkana Ongesa, Expedito Mwebe and Francis Nnaggenda, to name a few. They organised the highly acclaimed African Heritage Cultural Festival that toured the world. Several former African Heritage models went on to become supermodels such as Fayel Tall, Iman and Khadija Adams, one of the first black models to appear on the cover of Cosmopolitan magazine. The Gallery supported a new generation of artists and craft sellers. “Buying day was every Tuesday at African Heritage,” Donovan explains, describing the place where craftspeople from all over Kenya and Africa brought their wares.

When the Gallery was eventually forced to move out of their long-time location on Kenyatta Avenue, the “Tuesdays Buying Day” moved close to “Uhuru Highway, then later to the Globe Cinema roundabout.” Tuesdays Buying Day gradually evolved into today’s highly popular Masai Market, where various

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Laying Down Some Ochre Roots

After several years of living in Kenya, it was time for Donovan to find a proper home. “I found it quite by accident,” he explains how he chanced upon the location of the African Heritage House off Mombasa Road, which faces the Nairobi National Park. An acquaintance was leaving the country and selling the house. At first Donovan thought the location was too far away, but after he walked through the place and saw the view of the national park, he immediately knew it was the perfect spot for his dream house. Donovan designed the house in the style of the African mud houses with the help of architect David Bistrow, and it was built between 1989 and 1994: “It’s made from solid stone from the Athi River, covered in plaster and painted over, all done by local artisans.”

Set on a ridge looking down at the Athi Plains, the African Heritage House is simply extraordinary. It is a triple-level, ochre-coloured building with turreted corners, wooden scaffolding poles jut out of its walls as it echoes the earthen palaces and mosques of Nigeria and Mali. Tall, carved wooden doors lead onto stone floors resting under rough-hewn ceiling beams accompanied by mural-painted walls, with bathrooms characterised by Swahili plasterwork and finally a Moroccan-style garden courtyard. Every inch of the nine rooms are adorned with vibrant African memorabilia gathered

by Donovan: intricate Kamba beadwork, Pokomo woven mats, Ethiopian crosses, Fulani camel blankets, doors from Lamy, Ibo masquerade costumes, Tutsi royal drums, Congo ceremonial daggers, Nigerian deities carved in Kisii soapstone which is all mixed in with an array of masks, brass sinks, textiles, contemporary art, sculptures... almost like a beautiful never-ending sea of African artefacts. Donovan estimates that the house holds a jaw-dropping 6,000 pieces of African artefacts: “Many of these items you can’t find or buy anywhere else.”

Although the house is thought by some to be a private home with a large personal collection of art, the house is open to visitors and takes overnight guests by appointment. “I want students to have access to study and catalogue the items,” says Donovan. Former U.S. Ambassador to Kenya, William Bellamy, once remarked, “To my Kenyan friends I say… in the end, the beneficiaries of such acts of preservation will be your own children.”

A Troubled Period

The 90s were rough years for the African Heritage House. The Gallery also suffered a decline in business from the downturn of tourism caused by Kenya’s political woes and security concerns, including the U.S. Embassy bombing of 1998. The final straw came in 2003 when British Airways temporarily stopped flying to Kenya due to terrorism fears. With a heavy heart, Donovan was forced to sell the Gallery after 31 years.

Meanwhile, Murumbi had donated his Nairobi house and its Africana collection to the Government on the understanding that it would be turned into a centre for African studies. Now an old man, he retired to a home in the countryside and it wasn’t until years later that a now ailing Murumbi made the heartbreaking discovery that his former home was left to rot and eventually demolished by private developers. He died not

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long after the discovery in 1990. When Sheila passed away in 2000, the Murumbis’ invaluable collection lay neglected in the basement of the Kenya National Archives for years; at one point the invaluable collection was on the verge of being ferried overseas to distant relatives. It took concerted efforts by the Murumbi Trust, which was started by Donovan, and the Kenyan Government to prevent the exportation of the items.

In 2006, Donovan restored part of the Murumbi collection and it was finally put on display at the Kenya National Archives, with the famous Nimba mask being included in the collection.

In 2013, another part of the Murumbi collection was displayed at the Nairobi Gallery which was the old Provincial Commissioner’s Office during the colonial period. Ironically, decades before, Murumbi had proposed that the same building be used as an art gallery. From the unfortunate turn of events for the Murumbi art collection, it seemed that the journey for the preservation of vital African art in Kenya was fraught with obstacles.

A Treasure Saved

Less than a year later after Donovan had managed to rescue his friend’s legacy, on Jan. 26, 2014 an armed officer sought to ring the death bell for the African Heritage House. Right away Donovan embarked on a year-long campaign to preserve his life’s work: he appealed to the Transport and Culture Ministries, engaged the National Museums of Kenya body, took state officials on tours of the house, proposed alternative routes for the railway line and presented signed petitions from all over the world. “I had given up,” said Donovan.

Then, exactly one year later, Donovan received some amazing news: “An ex-student called me and said, ‘Congratulations, I’m so happy to hear your house is gazetted’,” he recalls. Donovan quickly purchased a copy of the Kenya Gazette, the official publication for Government of Kenya notices. It announced that on Jan. 26, 2015 the African Heritage House had been elevated to a national monument.

This makes the house a cultural heritage site for Kenyans, according to The Laws of Kenya, Section 2 of the National Museums and Heritage Act. “I was surprised,” is simply how Donovan describes that incredible moment. What he would have done had the hammer fallen on the house? “Taken it to the U.S,” announces Donovan. Thankfully for Kenyans and Africaloving parties, this did not come to pass. For all the triumphant and turbulent years of preserving African antiquities and elevating African culture onto the world stage, he remains extremely self-effacing. Now silver-haired and in his seventies, Donovan can plan for the future of the House.

“It will be made into an Advanced African Studies centre through the African Heritage Trust, together with Kenyan and American universities.” This accidental historian would like to develop the estate into a cultural and tourist attraction, and perhaps revive the African Heritage fashion shows.

Having recently traced Murumbi’s old transcripts from the 70s, he is writing the long overdue biography of his friend.

Why does he continue to fight for Africa’s heritage? “The items are extraordinarily important for Kenya. There’s no other collection like it,” he explains. After a moment’s pause Donovan adds, “And I owe it to Murumbi. It’s what he would have wanted.” Kenya owes much to these two extraordinary warriors of African culture.

Photographs: Alan Donovan

African wears are sold to Kenyans and tourists who haggle to attain the African item of their desire at open air areas or Nairobi’s shopping malls where the markets are held.

Clockwise from top: Alan Donovan, Sheila Murumbi and Dr. Ibokun, former Director of UNESCO at Gallery re-opening ; Alan Donovan with a Turkana Akarum , a wooden milk container carved by a Turkana woman using only a broken spear; A Swahilistyle bathroom with intricate designs ; Carol Beckwith at A.H. Gallery Garden & Craft Centre ; A mazeras stone pool overlooking the Nairobi National Park.

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82 March ���� Destination

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M

atthew McConaughey is cool.

Sounds like a cliché, doesn’t it? But, if there was ever a criterion for a living, breathing, unscripted, real life example of COOL, McConaughey unquestionably meets it: boyishly handsome good looks, a dimpled, almost naughty smile, a quaint southern drawl, chiselled physique; an all American cool.

Yet, more than the exterior, McConaughey is so damn cool because of how he views the world and his position in it.

The Texan native can come off as cocky. Not in an arrogant, conceited manner, but in the manner of a man who knows his worth and owns his vision. Committed to sharing his revelations, the actor answers questions as though sharing a thought process, taking those interested along with him on his journey. The outcome? Detailed answers that offer specific information that may not be expected by recipients.

Case in point, in a recent interview with Interview Magazine McConaughey was asked if he dreams. His answer: Yes and in colour. For most of us it would have seemed obvious to dream in colour, something not to even consider. But for McConaughey, he is fascinated with the world around him and with self-discoveries. Listening to him creates an infectious appetite for wonder and realisation. Threetime co-star Woody Harrelson refers to McConaughey as a philosopher, a poet.

McConaughey consciously refuses to allow fear of criticism or failure to dictate the choices that he makes. Even when critics were quick to define him in ways that were not so kind, or fair for that matter, his life and career have been scripted to follow the direction that he sees fit.

Discovered in a coffee shop at the ripe age of 26, McConaughey was cast in the role of David Wooderson, in Richard Linklater’s well-received teen flick, Dazed and Confused. From there he went on to play small roles in a variety of films before finally landing the part that would propel him into the spotlight, lawyer Jake Brigance in the big screen adaptation of John Grisham’s novel, A Time to Kill. Working alongside talented co-stars, Sandra Bullock and Samuel L. Jackson, the film would go on to receive acclaim, both with fans and at the Box Office. Throughout the 90s, McConaughey was cast in leading roles in a number of respected films, most of which did inexplicably poorly in theatres.

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The 2000s were a turnaround for McConaughey’s bankability. It would be the decade that romantic comedies would discover their favourite leading man, and for a time, it worked for the actor, studios and audiences alike.

Easy plot lines, well-constructed scripts and likeable stars, fill seats and pockets and hey, who doesn’t love a happy ending? But after making a string of successful Box Office hit films -The Wedding Planner, Sahara, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Fool’s Gold, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Failure to Launch – McConaughey found himself suddenly typecast as the rom-com king. He was perceived by industry players as being infinitely limited to romantic comedies without the repertoire of serious Hollywood films. Hollywood seemed to have conveniently forgotten McConaughey’s noteworthy performances in Amistad, A Time to Kill and We are Marshall.

McConaughey needed to change these perceptions and pursue new challenges in his career. And so, as with what every smart movie star should do, McConaughey made the decision, for himself, to step back from the Hollywood rat race, to pass on the films he was being offered and reevaluate things a bit. The result? The assumption that the actor was finished, his career stalled.

Naysayers could not have been more wrong.

McConaughey hit back hard – when he was ready and at the right time – not with words, but rather, with creative risks in small, edgy, deep feeling, soul tugging, dramatic films such as 2011’s Lincoln Lawyer, 2013’s Mud and the unexpected hit film of 2013, Dallas Buyers Club. Quickly, word rang out in the industry of McConaughey’s comeback, McConaughey’s second wind. Truth be told, he hadn’t really gone anywhere, nor had his already highly successful career.

While he has received his fair share of criticism for some of his film choices, and for going shirtless more often than some, anyone who spends any time with Matthew McConaughey cannot deny that the dedicated father exceeds expectation. He’s the man women want to sleep with and the dude that other guys want to chill with after a hard day at work. McConaughey has found the natural blend of being likeable, fun, funny and respectable and yet somehow still out of reach. McConaughey is very much in a state of his own, a preacher, a thinker…. Someone determined to transcend the limitations of human thought and an industry that so naturally slots actors into clearly labelled, designated boxes.

Now, with a new big budget thriller, Interstellar, co-starring Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain, hitting screens this month, Matthew McConaughey is all smiles. He is right where he wants to be. So what’s next for the Oscar winning actor? “Right now I’m just doing the things that feel right to me.” Makes sense to us. After all, that is simply the coolest thing to do.

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You have a new film out this month, Interstellar. It’s been kept hush hush, but what can you tell us about your character?

I play a guy who is a pilot, who’s now been figuratively grounded – there’s no need for new bright ideas in this world and also for the practical reasons – I’ve got a family, got children and that’s not a reason that keeps me here. The film is very much about family, personal choices. You know, to go out there and pursue a dream, or to stay here because of the circumstances that put us here, to be responsible for what we are, whether that’s being a parent or what have you.

[Interstellar] also poses large questions for the humanity of the species in our evolution. When you hear the one byline in the trailer; which is, ‘mankind was born on Earth. [It was never meant] to die here’, it poses that very ambitious question. It takes us further out into space than any other film or book, that I know of. You know, it’s the most ambitious film that Christopher Nolan’s ever done. I’ll say that the scale and the scope are much larger than Inception or any of the Batmans.

At the same time, I think it definitely has more humanity and intimacy than any of his other pictures.

You had the opportunity to visit Mali some years back and had quite the experience.

I fell in love with Mali and the people. I mean, it’s an interesting story how I got over there. I had been having a recurring dream that I was on the Amazon River and that there were African tribesmen plying the banks of the river.

And as dreams don’t always make literal sense, I went to the continent of Africa, in the atlas, looking for the Amazon. So, as you know, I was on the wrong continent. Anyway, I called a buddy and I’m like, ‘Man, I cannot get the details’. He goes, ‘Well, you’ve got the wrong continent!’ ‘Oh yeah! The Amazon – that’s South America!’ So, I get down to Peru on my own and ended up following the Amazon, and I had a great trip. I was there for 30 days and it really fulfilled a lot and completed something for me.

Well, two years later I had the same dream again, that same dream. I’m like, ‘Oh, it’s calling me back, I gotta finish the dream.’ I was like, ‘Oh, it’s the other fact I know of the dream – it’s the African tribesmen on the banks of the river.’ So, I was working over in Dublin on a film and it’s, I don’t know, about six months later – bam I had the dream for the fourth time! Exactly, frame by frame, same exact dream. So I said, ‘Well, look, when this film’s done I gotta go. I gotta go find that... but I don’t know where I’m gonna go.’ I remember sitting in my hotel room one night, just flipping through the atlas and I started to think about a musician that I’d been listening to a lot at the time – Ali Farka Touré.

So I’m sitting and I go, ‘Oh wait a minute – where’s Ali

from?’ So I open up the liner notes to “Talking Timbuktu” [that I was listening to] and I find out that he’s from Mali. So I’m like, ‘Well, there’s my sign! That’s where I gotta go. Let’s start the trip by going to find Ali.’ So I finished the film, went down, got all my vaccinations, and got a flight into Bamako.

Once there, I stayed in a hotel for two nights. Walking around the city, I kind of got a little bit of my bearings. I met this guy from the street named Amadou, who helped me get a ride to Mopti. I was dropped off right where the Boni meets the Niger [River]. So, I’m standing on this dusty street in front of a mud building and I hear this man singing inside, taking a shower. And in between him singing in the shower – cause no one else was there – I hear, ‘Hello?’ Looking out his window, while taking a shower, he is calling to me, ‘What is your name? Sit down! Put your bag on the ground. Relax. You are home.’ And so I sit down, he finishes his shower, and he comes out to talk to me and I tell him that I want to go find Ali Farka Touré. And so, we worked out a trip to go and find Ali. First thing was, let’s get to Timbuktu.

We did the trip and we went and found Ali in Niafunké, at his second wife’s home. And then he invited me in. Now – mind you, no one over there knew that I was an actor. I told everyone that I was a writer and a boxer. Right? And I should know about the Malians – they didn’t really give a damn about the writing part, but they were excited about the boxing part.

Word got around that there’s a strong white man in town and he’s a boxer. And they love to wrestle, right? So, it got around that I was a boxer and the young Malian lads liked to come up [and challenge me]. So, I had to take the boxing stance a few times and to them, because they’re wrestlers, it looked…. they’d start going, ‘Oh! Chuck Norris, Chuck Norris!’ (Laughs) ‘Chuck Norris!’ But it did catch up to me when I got called out, and that was nice entertainment... in a major wrestling match against [Michel], who only later did I find out was not only champion of his village, but champion of his village and three villages back! (Laughs)

Malians are very accommodating, they’re very sweet people.

So sweet, so sweet. You know, I learnt so many proverbs from that trip. You know, little things like... “You better be different, not sorry.” Such a good one.

You starred in one of our favourite shows earlier this year, True Detective. It’s interesting that the creators originally wanted you to look at Woody’s character, Marty, but you preferred the character of Rust. What was it about Rust over Marty that actually spoke to you?

Well, I understood why they gave me the role of Marty. I actually said, ’You know what, five years ago I would have

But I, in no way, will belittle or look at my past work as of a lower caliber or of less depth.

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probably been more for Marty.’ But, when I saw Rust Cohle, I couldn’t wait to turn the page and see what was gonna come out of the guy’s mouth. And I also loved his singular focus. I actually thought he was brilliant. I said, ‘This guy is the best detective ever.’ This guy is such an island and I loved the challenging thought process that he had. I loved how you could go – whether you believe it or not – ‘Geez, he’s kind of right,’ or ‘He is right.’ Even though it was almost a doomsday point of view, but he had such a strong constitution; he was his own judge and jury. And he was hard on himself. It was also an original; I hadn’t played a guy that had a voice like that. But I understand that guy and I like his point of view, I like his stoicism and his security in his beliefs. His loneliness and his aloneness in his beliefs.

He’s not there to get along with you; out there to try and, you know, have a good conversation. I loved his singular vision, I loved his personal politics and his constitution and the singularity of his goals.

You have a reputation of really embracing the roles you take on. Rust’s character was obviously a darker, more complicated individual, in a dark show. Did portraying such a troubled and complex character for six months straight have an impact on you at all, emotionally?

Well, I think what it did, and what I really enjoyed about it – and this comes back to the singular vision of the guy – it was a very sobering character. When I say sobering, it’s like this is a guy who has no sentimentality. I always approached Rust Cohle as seeing himself as a realist, not a pessimist, you know? It was important to me because I really didn’t think this guy had any sort of attitude, not showing off for anyone, he did not like talking to make people go, ‘Wow, listen to him!’ He couldn’t help himself; that’s just who he was. Rustin Cohle – didn’t let anything slide (Laughs) and it’s a harrowing existence. But the guy is ultimately so pure.

It’s been stated by numerous people [in the industry] that they feel that you are one of the best actors of your generation, but that you weren’t given the credit you were due [before your 2014 Oscar]. There’s been a lot of talk of McConaughey’s ‘comeback’. It’s baffling, because you’ve been making successful pictures for over 20 years. Yet, from 2011, you’re being touted as having professional redemption.

What’s it all about?

Well, I understand what it’s about, but I’ve had to make sure I straighten a lot of people’s perception out. I stole a line from Josh Brolin when we were talking about it one night. He was like, ‘Yeah! It’s like, what do they think? I was doing C+ work then, but now I’m doing A work?’ And now, I made some conscious decisions to recalibrate my relationship with my career and to choose different things that turn me on in different ways. But I, in no way, will belittle or look at my past work as of a lower caliber or of less depth. Now I make different choices.

I think the first thing that started to change people’s perception a little bit was Lincoln Lawyer, a pop thriller that

I think made people go, ‘Oh yeah, that’s right. He’s a lawyer in A Time to Kill, yet he’s a little... not as altruistic in this one. He’s got a lot of edge, man. It made 50 million bucks so people saw it and it has to be more than just something that the industry sees. It has to be something that gets out there – to change perception – and then people... the audiences and consumers then reply to it.

If you completely write about romantic comedies, it’s a completely different game. They are dismissed in the industry so quickly these days. Now, mind you, back in the 50s [romantic comedies] were the big films and people were lauded [for their talent], for being in them, but they’re not really anymore, and I’m guessing that part of it is the genre.

The industry hasn’t really found originality in romantic comedies. You know the boy is going to meet the girl, you know they’re gonna have to break up and then in the third act, the boy’s gonna chase the girl to get her in the end. We know that’s gonna happen. I mean, no matter how hard they disagree in Act 2, you know in Act 3 that those two are going to get together somehow. But you know it’s gonna happen and I think that the hope with romantic comedies is to say, ‘Oh right, let the audience enjoy seeing how we go about doing what they already know is going to happen.’

Over the years, you moved from romantic comedies to more dramatic films. Did you see this as a reinvention of yourself?

I never saw it as a reinvention. I did consciously say no to those kinds of scripts that were coming in, because I felt like I had done enough of those. I felt like I was somewhat being branded as that and yet I just said, ‘I don’t know what I wanna do, but I’m gonna have to say no to the things I’ve been doing.’ I didn’t go rebrand, but what I did is, I got less brand. And in the two years that I took off work, I gained some anonymity, which is very good for an actor. And in the anonymity I think I became some other director’s new good idea. So, I think two years didn’t make a new perception of me [but it made people think], ‘Wait a minute, where is McConaughey? What’s he doing?’ And [people were] like, ‘Well, we haven’t seen him.’ So, those things found me.

And so, as I said, there’s a level of consciousness to say, ‘No I don’t feel like doing what I’ve been doing.’ But it was not like there is a demarcation or a reinvention. I don’t go about my work completely different now; I’m not a different guy. I mean, could I have done these roles five years ago? Yes. Would they have been different than they are now? They are, to some extent, you know? But I did consciously say, ‘Look, you know, f*** the Box [Office]. I’m going for the experience.’ I did say that. And I asked, ‘What’s the experience I can go get? What are some roles that are gonna make me shake in my boots just a bit?’

Dallas Buyers Club was turned down 86 times by studios and yet, you still stayed true and stuck by it. Why did you stick with Dallas when everyone else in town seemed to turn it away?

You know, I read it and knew it was something special. I felt like I was the right guy for it. I also knew that it wasn’t a popular choice. I also knew that, in certain ways, I may not have been a popular choice at that time. So I felt like

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That’s ‘the little engine that could’ of the film industry and you guys proved everybody wrong; won the Oscar and it was an amazing film.

Yeah, for sure. Well, the script always had goodwill. It had a major amount

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of goodwill. Even in all the 86 no’s, people had the goodwill and loved the script, but nobody would step up to the plate and make it.

You called Tom Hanks to ask him for some tips on losing weight. And you lost a lot! What did Tom tell you?

Oh, we just talked and he basically told me, ‘Look, the gaining of the weight is the dangerous part. The gaining it back is the part you gotta really be careful of.’ He told me what he did to lose weight [for Philadelphia]. The losing of the weight was much more scientific as far as diet, sticking to it and little bit of exercise – mainly diet. But that was basically it. And I told him that I was fortunate enough... I had four months, so my deal was to lose three and a half pounds a week and do it in as healthy a way as possible. I didn’t have to do it in like, one month. And he was like, ‘Oh, that’s great. You’ve got the time to do it right.’ And then he just said, ‘You know what? Just be careful on the way back.

You gotta watch it.’

You recently launched your own clothing line. What influenced you to make this move?

I love a good T-shirt and I write stuff all the time, and now I got an outlet to put these on T-shirts and they are things that people have fun with and they like the message. I just started stamping everything I could – flipflops, T-shirts, dog collars. And all of a sudden people liked the line, and I liked it and it was meaning something to other people. [At the beginning] it was a little online store, and Jeff Otis came to me [and said], ‘I like your brand, I like its message, I’d like to take it and expand it, and really get into the retail business.’ So, we pulled it from an online store to a real production. It’s a lifestyle, it’s got a lot of Saturday afternoon in it, but it’s also got enough fashion for men today, in a more mobile society, it’s stuff that you can wear, I like to say, from the jungle to the office. It’s stuff that can handle the transition from going to work, to play, then to the bar. And, it’s fun. I mean, I’m not overly concerned daily about fashion but I have a lot of strong opinions about things that I like. So, we’re not recreating the wheel here;

we’re not going for any sort of runway Paris fashion. (Laughs) We’re going for some practical guy gear.

So is a women’s line in the works as well or will you mainly stay focused on the men’s line?

Right now we’ll stay focused on the men, but we’re working out some things for women and children.

You started the Just Keep Living Foundation in 2008. And the Foundation is – ‘Dedicated to empowering high school students to lead active lives, to make healthy choices, to become great men and women.’ Where did the idea to set up the Foundation come from?

It came from this: I got successful, wanted to have an aspect of my life that I could give something back. I mean, more than just me putting my name up on certain boards and stuff like that.

And there’s just a million great causes out there, but I wanted to find my own and I knew I wanted to do something with kids, I didn’t know which kids.

Then I did my research and thought about it for a while, had some people help me think about how to define this.

I thought, ‘What’s the last passage as a youth?’ That if you got things going well in your life, you keep them going well; if you don’t have things going well in your life, what’s the last sort of chance to get on the right track. I was like, high school! I mean, when you’re out of high school, then you’re an adult, you’re on your own. And I see a lot of these kids I notice on the wrong track, [they] get out of high school and find out that if they screw up once they’re outside of high school, [they] get jail (Laughs).

The consequences of real life, you find out have a much larger price once you’re out of school. So I was like, let’s catch them on that bridge into adulthood. The other thing I knew was, I said I want to do something that incentivizes, that can give prevention before you need the cure. And that’s why I wanted to go with youth.

Now, exercise turned out to be an aspect because it was obvious, the growing rate of obesity all over the place and I noticed that, you know, researched [and found that youth spend] an average of seven hours on electronic devices after school, every day. And I thought

Photographs: Mark Seliger / Management + Artists

an underdog, and the script was an underdog. And so, you know, sometimes you get power by feeling like an underdog. I know I did and so did Jean-Marc Vallée, the Director.

We all felt like underdogs, we had a chip on our shoulder. Basically, we knew that nobody was coming around going, ‘Oh my, this is a great idea, this is so great, this is so great!’ It was also something that was started in the campaign season. Nobody would come up and go, ‘I always wanted to do this. I’m so glad it got made.’

(Laughs) Nobody wanted to make it, so nobody could really jump up off the bandwagon going, ‘I wish we could have made that, I tried to make it with you.’

We had all the no’s, people turning it down. So, the confidence came in and we said, ‘We’re doing this!’ JeanMarc and I got going with producers and we started saying, ‘Let’s set a date to do this,’ and even when the money wasn’t real and we were getting told, ‘Hey, if it’s not real we’re gonna have to push this to next year.’ We didn’t even engage in that conversation, we didn’t flinch. Basically, we just said, ‘No, we are making it happen. Yeah, we don’t have the money [but] that’s okay. We’re gonna make it.’ And part of that, by not flinching, built the momentum where people and financiers just kind of said, ‘That train’s left the station, they are making it.’

It was a pretty good example, you know, because we didn’t flinch and draw back into consideration that, ‘Yeah, we don’t have enough money’ [or] ‘Well, listen, what if we push it and really go back to work and find some more money?’ We all knew, no man, if we push, it gets ambiguous again. We just have to put a date down, say we’re there and Jean-Marc and I had a call, 11 days or eight days, before shooting.

[We said] that we don’t have enough money, we don’t have enough time, but if you’ll be there on day one, I’ll be there.

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back to my own childhood and how my mother wouldn’t allow us to come home, sit on the couch and watch [TV]. No, she was like, ‘You gotta get outside’. And then I remember a very vivid image of driving home in our neighborhood on one Christmas day, probably in 2005, and it was about one o’clock – a time when no one’s opening presents anymore, everyone’s opened their presents, right? But not one kid was outside playing. I was like, ‘Where is everyone? They’re not playing with their basketball, they’re not riding their bicycles.’ Then I realised, ‘They’re inside playing their new video game.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, something about that’s not right. Something about that’s kind of sad.’ So [with that in mind] we were like, let’s put an exercise component in this.

That’s amazing. Are there any other values that you try to instil on the youth?

[When we approached the] lower-income schools, we said, ‘Let’s teach these young men and women and their families how to eat nutritionally on a budget.’ Meaning, instead of grabbing six burgers at a burger joint, here’s how you can go get two pounds of beef, some vegetables and rice and make a great home-cooked meal. The third aspect was life choices. It’s basically encompassed by what we have called ‘the gratitude circle’ and that’s just, you know, saying thank you and being thankful for what we do have in life. I’ve found for me, that that’s giving back. If it’s in my life and it’s good, I need to be thankful for it. So we started that aspect and look, for high school kids to get in front of each other and tell people things they’re thankful for is not necessarily doing the cool thing.

But we turned it into a cool thing because we made sure that the kids understood you can be thankful. We made sure that the kids understand [that] hey man, if you got your first kiss from your girlfriend, that’s something to be thankful for, you know?

So, we try to make them understand you don’t have to be thankful for the heavy heavy things, the dramatic things in our lives. You can be thankful for the fun things, like be thankful it’s Friday. So that loosens the kids up, they go, ‘Oh, I can be more open.’ And then they really start to share intimacy. And a lot of kids come forward and say, ‘You know, my favourite thing about the gratitude circle is that I’m hearing people say thank you for things in their life that I’ve got in my life, that I haven’t ever said thank you.’ So they’re getting it. It’s really been healthy and fun for them and it’s

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helping them to respect themselves more, respect others more and it’s changing their perception.

So are you personally involved on a regular basis with the Foundation?

Yeah, on a weekly basis. I mean, there’s daily check-in, but then there’s weekly stuff... I mean, we just got through working a day job, so we’ve been going around the country doing fundraisers and implementing schools. We’re at 15 or 16 schools now and then we’re just about to expand. We’re in three states and we’re about to be in four. [We found that] the P.E. programme has been cut [in the schools], there’s no room, it’s all concrete, there’s no room to get outside and do things, so they don’t and we found out that it’s the [schools in the] inner city needing our programmes most.

You were quoted in The Telegraph as saying that the one thing that you knew you always wanted to be was a dad.

Yeah, that’s an accurate quote. You know, I knew since I was eight years old. For me, I mean look, I wanted to be other things: a running back for my favourite football team, those things that a kid dreams of being. But the one thing I knew I wanted to be was a father, even before saying, ‘Oh, I want to get married.’ You know what I think it has to do with, for me, I always looked at being a father as, ‘Wow, that’s the biggest thing a man can be.’ That was why I called people Mister. That was what I always felt was the most respectable position a man could be in. That’s who I looked at as, ‘Okay, that man deserves my respect if he’s a father; that man has a kid.’ And you know, part of it may be... I remember being raised that we were always, you know, if you shake a man’s hand, look him in the eye, and I remember in my mind – whether it was romanticised or not – thinking that’s why.

That, this man is a father, the reason I’m calling him Mister is because he has succeeded. Now you have found the great success. He’s passed on lineage, he’s leaving shadow. The greatest shadow. And so I’ve always just had the ultimate respect for fatherhood and what opportunities it allows.

A sobering thought for all dads!

Check out Interstellar hitting the big screen on November 7, 2014.

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he heavy wooden gates swing open to usher us into the Kamiti Maximum Security Prison. This prison has been home to many, among them, political prisoners of the nineties – some who are government officials today. Kamiti is also known for its harsh conditions and bizarre incidences like inmates sleeping next to the corpse of a death row prisoner who’d been left lying in one of the cells overnight.

But, today – thanks to a bright, sunny morning – the inmates are in an animated mood. There is screaming and cheering in the background as we weave our way through the prison. It is sports day and the inmates are in a frenzied, competitive mood. Today, they are having their usual in-house athletics where the winners walk away with shiny trophies and little tokens from the prison management. This is how the inmates keep hope alive, although most who are serving life sentences and those on death row might never venture out beyond these four walls. Our interest and attention is lured towards the jubilant applauses, however, my photographer, Nick Ysenburg, and I are here for a different purpose and we are quickly led into a busy hall where other inmates, busy and quiet, are working with clockwork precision.

The tall, burly man at the front is Peter Ouko. Other than his physique which stands out – as the man towers above most of the other inmates – Ouko recently made headlines by achieving a feat that many behind bars could only dream of.

Against all odds, Ouko made history as the first prisoner in Kenya to graduate with a Diploma in Common Law from the University of London’s International Programmes. With this accomplishment, Ouko joins the league of other high-profile prisoners such as former South African President Nelson Mandela who studied law from the same university during his 27-year imprisonment.

Death Row Inmate

“I came in an ugly, poorly ventilated, overloaded, smoke spewing truck whose driver deliberately made the 20km journey from the courtroom as most painful an ordeal as the sentence of death that had just been meted upon me in a dramatic judgment a few hours earlier,” Ouko narrates. I am taken aback by the man’s eloquence. When I pose a question I can almost see the wheels in his head turning as he takes time to process it before answering in perfect English.

Ouko had only been 28 years old when his life on the fastlane was brought to a grinding halt. After his ‘O’ levels at the renowned Alliance Boys High School, his mother, Lornah Ouko, wanted him to pursue a degree in India, but he had other plans. Ouko went to work for the Bata Shoe Company where he rose up the ranks to become one of the youngest managers before proceeding to start AlPeter Technical Company specialising in interior design, car alarms and accessories.

But, success and thoughts of raising his two children, Kiki and Lornah – who is named after her grandmother – with

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Doing the Time

Life in prison is hard, especially for a prisoner who had previously been enjoying a successful and productive life.

Moving from the comforts of ones home to a tiny cell with a hard mattress was not an easy switch for Ouko. Neither was being dictated to in regards to sleeping, waking up or eating.

Even though Ouko is adamant on his innocence, he still did the time. But, after 14 gruelling years in Kamiti and the disappointment from a lost appeal against his sentence, Ouko faced the stark reality of life in prison: to accept his lot and die in despair or find a way to continue to fight for justice. He decided to find a purpose – instead of moping around, feeling sorry for himself – that would help him live a meaningful life. His greatest motivation came when he realised that most inmates, like him, were stuck in legal limbo. Inmates on death row go through the motions as they don’t have anything to look forward to even though none has faced the hangman’s noose since 1987 when prisoners behind the 1982 attempted coup that was to oust Daniel arap Moi from presidency were hanged.

The opportunity to turn his life around presented itself in 2006. Ouko was among the inmates invited by the newly constituted Judicial Service Commission of recently appointed judges – to share his thoughts on the state of the judiciary on behalf of his fellow prisoners. Many inmates in Kamiti, according to Ouko, are serving sentences for crimes they did not commit. Some are kept in remand for years due to the slow pace at which the wheels of justice, in Kenya, move. This meeting turned out to be a life-changing event for the inmate when he met the former Attorney General, Emeritus Amos Wako, who suggested that Ouko should consider studying law.

“I said I would love to study if he paid for me,” says Ouko.

This happenstance led Ouko to the most challenging and long three-year journey that would see him make history. But more importantly, Ouko found his purpose in learning and went back to school to seek justice for Jennifer.

The Turtle Approach

As the first prisoner to undertake a course in law while in a Kenyan prison, Ouko’s pursuit of learning was not without its hurdles and delays. Studying an online international course is difficult enough for anyone let alone a prisoner, with limited resources, in a maximum-security prison. Ouko’s endeavour would need nothing short of a miracle. However, with the help of sponsors and old friends, Ouko managed to pay the tuition fee and in 2012, Ouko enrolled for a diploma in law through the University of London’s international distance learning programme with the support of the African Prisons

Photographs: Nick Ysenberg, David Silverman

T

the love of his life, Jennifer, came to a tragic and harrowing end when he was accused of murdering his wife. With a guilty verdict, he was sentenced to death row, a sentencing that according to Ouko ‘shattered and broke his spirit.’ He was then transported to Naivasha Maximum Prison where he stayed until September 2002 when he was transferred to Kamiti Maximum Security Prison – Kenya’s infamous prison that sits on 1,200 acres in the agricultural district of Kiambu and houses the country’s most notorious criminals. In 2009, having been on death row for eight years, his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, by former President Mwai Kibaki.

Inmates at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison who are taking Peter Ouko’s art class. The class, which currently has 15 students, consists of inmates serving various sentences, including life.

Project and the British Council in Kenya. Thus began the tough and trying experience of online studying, setting targets and silencing the naysayers who did not see why a man serving a life sentence would bother with a law degree.

“I decided to use the turtle approach in my studies. In order to move in my studies I had to stick my neck out. I made up my mind that the challenges I was facing were not going to make me hide in a shell. I went through some very trying moments. Quitting was not an option,” he says.

Often times, he was up by 3:00a.m to study and used the prison’s documentation office as a study room during the day. He would wait until the office was vacant to catch up on his audio classes and use the office computer and internet services to access journals from the university’s website. Ouko sat for his exams at the prison facility and often had to rely on correspondence from his lecturers to keep track of his academic work.

Questions as to whether the inmate was pursuing the same law degree as the rest of the students abroad arose.

Their doubts were, however, quashed during the convocation ceremony when Professor Jenny Hamilton, the director of the Undergraduate Law Programme, confirmed that students in Kamiti sat for the same exams as everyone else at the campus. There was no favouritism – the standards that Ouko had to meet to graduate were exactly the same as those that students studying at the six law schools accredited to the university had to achieve.

The Prisons Commissioner, General Isaya Osugo, shares that “This initiative is part of the ongoing prisons reform process that ensures prisoners’ access to education in a bid for smooth re-integration to the society upon release.”

Ouko became an inmate that other prisoners at Kamiti look up to.

More inmates serving life and death

More inmates serving life and death sentences, through Ouko’s actions, realised that life does not end when the judge’s gavel hits the block sentences, through Ouko’s actions, realised that life does not end when the judge’s gavel hits the block.

Paying It Forward

Just like Ouko, more inmates in Kamiti have developed a passion for studying – although not necessarily law – and they are taking up courses at the university level.

There is pride in Osugo’s voice as he especially mentions one who began his studies in form two and is currently pursuing veterinary medicine at the University of Nairobi. “We want to ensure that once inmates are committed, they are reformed and reintegrated back to society as different people. We are happy that Mr. Ouko will be leaving prison a different person and that while he [is] in prison he did not

waste his time,” says Osugo.

Ouko can’t say much about his case, which is still on-going although he would like the judge to reverse his conviction, when he goes back to court this month. The seriousness, which he displays, when addressing the issue of his wife’s death and his innocence, denotes a man who is determined to clear his name.

Ouko is also a hands-on man who believes in learning on the job. While undertaking his studies, he assisted his fellow inmates in drafting their appeals and submissions. Not only for the love of the law, but by doing this, he was also preparing for his own case, for which he would be representing himself. But, other than studying, Ouko also has other projects that keep him busy behind bars. In 2007, he founded

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a crime awareness initiative dubbed “Crime Si Poa” (Crime isn’t Good) that educates the youth on the ills of crime.

The initiative is a lobby and campaign group that he runs in response to the spiralling crime rate in the country as well as recidivism amongst released inmates. One of the organisation’s projects is a vibrant arts project that has drawn the interest of numerous inmates for the art classes that are being offered.

As I walk around the room that houses the art class, I take in the colourful portraits hanging on the walls.

Most drawings are of exotic birds but there are a few wild animals such as giraffes and cheetahs. One can tell that the artists poured their hearts into the work and, from the attention they paid to detail, their talent is natural. The students, who are in black and white stripped prison uniforms, are seated on one side of the room, although one inmate, who immediately stands out, dons a fiery orange jumper over his uniform. Across from them, with arms crossed over his chest, is a warden, standing guard.

Supported by the Sarakasi Trust Hospital Project that donates paper and drawing materials, the inmates make gift cards, paintings, paper mâché and T-shirts, which they sell for a fee. This art class is run and managed by Ouko.

“They have talent [which] shouldn’t be wasted. They can do a lot while here and support their families with the little pocket money they get. It also helps reduce recidivism because the biggest challenge is getting accepted when reintegrating back to society,” says Ouko.

Currently, Ouko’s art class has 15 inmates, all of whom are serving different sentences. Most of them are young men in their twenties – some of whom have learned about art for the first time once they got to Kamiti.

As much as inmates in Kamiti thirst for education, there are hurdles that they meet, unlike students in the free world – challenges that might hinder

Peter Ouko graduated from the University of London with a Diploma in Common Law, while serving a life sentence [for murder] at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison. Ouko encourages fellow inmates to continue pursuing their education.

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them from achieving this feat.

Inmates’ Challenges

Kamiti Prison Academy is a school that gave inmates like Ouko who’d like to pursue an education a second chance. Started in 2001, the school was known as Kamiti Inmates Adult Education Program and, presently, the institution consists of primary, secondary, commercial and law levels, with the law students being sponsored by the University of London. There are seven inmates and one prison staff who are currently pursuing diplomas in law and the computer wing houses 10 computers.

Although it operates like any public school in Kenya, students have to rely on well-wishers because the government has not invested much in this project. The school needs textbooks and writing materials. This

year, the Academy’s main donor stopped funding the school after running out of resources leaving the inmates without enough learning materials.

And not many inmates are as persevering as Ouko. Some inmates will attend classes for two months and discontinue when their interest fizzles out. Aged inmates interested in the free education, take the opportunity to attend class for the first time in their lives, but, they eventually drop out either from embarrassment or pride; when they find themselves sitting in class with students old enough to be their children, or grandchildren.

Thomas Mutinda Munee describes the prison experience for a first time convict in two words, “very traumatising.” Had he not been a spiritual man, Munee would not have survived prison life for 15 years. In 1999, Munee had been a farm manager in a dairy farm in Thika

“A life sentence is just that – a sentence. The only end of life is the death sentence and it only becomes an end when you are executed” when he was arrested and sentenced to death for robbery with violence. His youngest child was only 1-year-old at the time. “If you are not spiritual [in here], you will hang yourself.”

Having been used to a warm bed which is suddenly replaced by a cold floor takes getting used to, especially for first time offenders.” You are used to freedom [then] suddenly you are being guarded and everything you do is

commanded to you, with consequences if you don’t do what is expected of you,” he shares.

Even though it didn’t take the death row inmate long to get used to the mundane routine of prison life, he never gave up hope of doing something worthwhile with his life while behind bars. This came about two years later, when he became the principal of Kamiti Prison Academy.

With a total of 150 students, the Academy is quite busy.

“I wake up at 5:30a.m and report to work at 7:30a.m,” Munee says before adding that, “Our classes begin at 8:00a.m through to noon before we take a lunch break and resume from 2:00pm to 4:00p.m.” The Diploma in Agriculture graduate from Egerton University says that, with 28 teachers working under him, his job is mainly to oversee the smooth running of the school.

Amidst all the challenges the school faces, Munee is pleased with the inmates’ performance in the national examinations. In last year’s Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE), the top student, a 32-yearold inmate, scored 326 marks out of a possible 500 and the school’s top student in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) scored a C minus.

Keeping the Faith

Donning a white, round hat with a bow, Ouko’s mother’s face is awash with excitement as she boasts of her son’s achievement. “His incarceration was for a higher purpose, I believe.” Ouko’s mother took up the responsibility of raising her two grandchildren while her son is in prison. Judges, she believes can make mistakes – and one was made when Ouko was found guilty of his wife’s murder. Lornah stands by her son whom she says is innocent. Bringing up her grandchildren, although something she enjoyed, was not an easy task due to

financial constrains. But, Ouko, still in prison, stepped in to ensure that his children got the education that they deserved. An education that he would easily have afforded them, had he still been running his company.

Kiki is a third year engineering student at the University of Nairobi and Lornah a second year Law student at the same college. Last year, Ouko invited friends, family and the entire prison community to an unprecedented fundraising ceremony that raised over KSH 1million for his children’s tuition fee.

“I thought life had ended for my son when he went to prison. I thought he would die there. But I thank God that he got the opportunity to study the course of his dreams. We are so proud of him,” the joyous grandmother explains.

But Ouko assures us that he didn’t just go back to school to make his mother proud – or to motivate his two children – even though he has. “This,” the graduate insists, “is about justice.

We have a right to pursue a higher level of learning.” Although content with his achievement, Ouko is not happy being stuck behind bars – not that anyone would be, especially with the state of Kenya’s prisons. Last year in June, inmates refused to produce car registration plates claiming that five had died because of negligence.

But, as long as he is in Kamiti, he promises to continue challenging fellow inmates to follow his lead and get an education.

Does he see a future for himself and these inmates who are now taking an interest to studies? “A life sentence is just that – a sentence. The only end of life is the death sentence and it only becomes an end when you are executed,” he says. Ouko remains hopeful and moreover, he is living proof that, even when behind bars, the mind has no barrier.

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notables

Manilal Desai (1879-1926)

East African

Legacies East Africa has a rich tapestry of interesting lives that have shaped its history.

Destination looks at a few fascinating people who have impacted the place we live in today

Photographs: Wikimedia Commons, Getty/Thinkstock

Many are still to realise that numerous Kenyan Indians fought for our independence as much as black Kenyans did. Manilal Desai was one such freedom fighter. Political activism was the last thing in his mind when he came to Kenya to work at the Harrison Salmon and Cresswell law firm in 1915.

A foreshadow of his life as an activist came when he joined the Nairobi Indian Association. He later joined the East African Indian National Congress (EAINC) where he aided in editing the East African Chronicle and in 1925 was a key partaker at the Legislative Council (Legco). As a secretary for the Nairobi Indian Association, Desai, alongside Indian and black Kenyans, struggled to bring to light the importance of having an egalitarian and progressive society. His activities saw him become president of the Association and a year later Chairman of the EAINC. Upon being elected president over the EAINC, he led the Congress to London to discuss the bitter disagreement between the Kenyan Indians and white settlers. This action resulted in the Devonshire Declaration, which stopped treads towards white dominance in the country. A trip to Tanganyika, where he went to raise funds for the Democrat, a newspaper that replaced the Chronicle, ended tragically when he suffered a heart failure in Bukoba, Tanganyika on July 15, 1926. Manilal Ambalal Desai is considered one of the most proactive political leaders in Kenya’s history.

Henry Odera Oruka (1944-1995)

The fight to bring out the impressive creative, artistic and genius side of Africa began with Henry Odera Oruka’s Sage Philosophy in the 1970s. The philosophy professor tried to come up with a way of preserving knowledge of traditional folk in rural Africa. He believed that poverty and hunger were a great hindrance to mental development and creativity, worked to disprove cultural and racial mythologies and argued that physical outward appearance could not be a barrier to intellectual activity. In 20 years, Odera and his group went across many rural remote villages in Kenya talking to the old and the wise on philosophical subjects. His goal was to bring to light an African philosophy that cleverly deals with daily problems universal to man. He wrote six books, co-authored three and scribbled over 50 essays and papers, most of which were published in the local and international print media and came from a shared department typewriter. He heavily criticised philosophers on being verbose and described the ideal scholar as one who always writes simply. He founded the Department of Philosophy at the University of Nairobi in 1980 and Sage Philosophy was a breaking contribution that continues to interest scholars across the world.

Joseph Thomson (1858-1895) His detest for violence made Joseph Thomson one of the most successful explorers in the 19th century. The Scottish geologist undertook an expedition for the Royal Geographic Society and became the first European to trudge through the African bush from Mombasa to Lake Victoria. Thomson ensured that there was peace among his porters and avoided conflicts with the people inhabiting the regions he travelled to. He also avoided the terrifying Maasai and the hostile Germans.

As a result, none on his expedition lost their lives to violence. In January 1885, he wrote a book, Through Maasai Land, that narrated his accounts and turned out to be a bestseller. Drawing heavily on Thomson’s experiences, Henry Rider Haggard wrote King Solomon’s Mines, which infuriated Thomson as he considered the work to be plagiarism. Though not successful, Joseph Thomson scoured the Northern part of Zambezi to have chiefs sign mining concessions and treaties on behalf of Cecil Rhodes in 1890. Thomson’s role was to bring cloth, gunpowder and other gifts to impress Msiri, King of Katanga, but he was stopped short by a small pox epidemic.

The beautiful Thomson’s gazelle, Eudorcas thomsoni, often seen leaping over tall swaying grass in the Kenyan and Tanzanian wilderness carries his name, as well as several snail species and a bivalve.

Photographs: Wikimedia Commons, Getty/Thinkstock

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culture

THE PROBLEM WITH

POLITICAL CORRECTNESS

M

om was wrong when she taught me, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” Names DO hurt – names can shame, ridicule, and humiliate. Some pertain to race or gender; others refer to weight, facial features, or a particular part of one’s anatomy. Names that refer to social class or what part of the country you’re from can be hurtful, as can names that involve age, religion, or physical ability. Even slang names for certain occupations can be hurtful.

Certainly, no one likes to be called a name that is disrespectful, unkind, or downright mean.

But there is another category of name-calling that is also hurtful and

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by BJ Gallagher

destructive: names such as “racist,” “sexist,” “homophobe,” “anti-Semite,” “bigot,” and the like. Yet, many people throw these labels around at the drop of a hat, without understanding what the labels actually mean – not to mention the damage done by accusing someone of racism, sexism, etc. The accusation alone – even without merit – can be enough to besmirch a reputation, kill a career, and invalidate a lifetime of good work.

Let’s consider the definition of racism: “a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial difference produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.” How about the definition of sexism: “prejudice or discrimination based on sex, especially discrimination against women.” And

let’s see who is a bigot: “a person who is obstinately or intolerably devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices; especially one who regards or treats the member of a group (as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance.”

I wonder, do the TV talking heads understand the true definition of the labels they hurl at public figures – “racist,” “sexist,” “bigoted,” “homophobic,” or worse – based on nothing more than a comment taken out of context, an artistic photo or image that’s the expression of a creative person’s vision, or simply someone’s clumsy attempt at humour.

Is it really “racist” to feature a darkskinned African woman in a magazine photo along with a white fashion model whose attire is inspired by an African theme? Is it really “racist” to

in focus use the term “those people” or “you people” in referring to others who come from an ethnic or cultural group different from one’s own? Is it really “sexist” to comment on a female political leader’s attire or hairstyle?

How many of us understand these definitions when we call someone a “racist” or “sexist jerk.” “Jerk,” perhaps … but “racist” or “sexist”? Perhaps … perhaps not. Do we really understand the seriousness of those labels? Or, are we simply indulging in hyperbolic name-calling based on political correctness?

My point is that the political correctness movement has gone waaay too far. The original intent of political correctness may have been good – to encourage tact and sensitivity to others’ feelings around issues of gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, physical abilities, and such. But the effect of political correctness has been to make everyone avoid these topics altogether – thereby hindering our ability to get comfortable in living and working with those who are different from us. It’s gone so far that political correctness has become a bigger problem than the problem it was intended to address.

It doesn’t really matter whether the PC Police come from the Right or the Left – the result is the same. These days everyone is so afraid of being called sexist or racist, or homophobic or anti-Semitic, or some other career-killing label, that we all tiptoe around diversity issues – avoiding them altogether if we possibly can.

So the question is: How are we ever going to be able to live and work together comfortably if there’s a whole herd of elephants in the room? If we can’t talk about our feelings, fears, aspirations, anxieties, assumptions, hopes, worries, dreams, and concerns, how can we ever build trust with those who are different from us? If we can’t talk about differences that puzzle us, or things we’re curious about, without fear of giving offense, then how can we ever overcome our ignorance about cultures and races – or simply the opposite sex?

If we must constantly self-censor any conversation pertaining to race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or physical ability – then we are doomed to perpetuate the very barriers we say we want to overcome.

To those who serve in today’s PC Police, I understand that your intentions are good. But there is a big gap between intent and impact. I would invite you to consider the impact of your censorship and finger-wagging, as well as your inclination to self-righteous, moral indignation. You don’t realise it, but you’re effectively throwing a wet blanket over public (and private) discussions of important issues.

You’ve gone too far in your efforts to protect everyone’s feelings. You’re essentially imposing a gag order on the whole of society – and in so doing, you’re hindering our progress in getting to know one another and understanding others’ different perspectives, viewpoints, feelings, and life experiences.

Lighten up, please. Resign from the PC Police. Unplug the Perpetual Outrage Machine. Stop looking for insult … and start looking for understanding.

BJ Gallagher is an American sociologist and author. Her latest book is the 20th anniversary edition of the diversity classic, “A Peacock in the Land of Penguins: A Fable About Creativity and Courage” (Berrett-Koehler). It is an international best-seller in 23 languages worldwide. www.peacockproductions.com

CLAIRE

FOUCHÉ

W

hether she is being featured in Vogue Magazine for her effortless, elegant style or hoping onto bodabodas [motorbike taxis] to get to her charity in the Kibera slum, Claire Fouché is a woman of multiple strengths. The mind behind the Fouché jewellery line, this designer combines the craftsmanship of Masai women on the slopes of the Ngong hills, the sturdy hands of men in Kibera and the finesse of artisans in London.

“Just pop it open like this and try it on ... enjoy it,” Fouché instructs, the light from a nearby window licks the brass on the cuff, as the ornament’s body made out of cow horn and ebony balances its shine. The look of the Diana Cuff is influenced by Diana Vreeland, the monumental woman and former Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Magazine: “It’s inspired by her style and love of ethnic ... warrior cuffs”. The striking piece of jewellery incorporates natural materials creating something that vibrates with multiculturalism.

Born to an English mother and a South African father, diversity runs in her veins and Fouché applies her cultural tonality to her jewellery with splendid effect. Her late mother – to whom the Diana Cuff is in homage – influenced her sense of creativity, “We were very close, she was extraordinary.

She had this incredible touch with colour palette ... with textile: she was endlessly creative and used to create set designs for me as a child. I have pictures of these costumes she used to make where I was [dressed] like a giraffe.”

Drawing inspiration from the Victorian era to creating cameos depicting African women, Fouché’s knack for diversity extends beyond gems. Delving into a place with warm hearts and resilient spirits, she is the co-founder of the Maisha Foundation which helps some talented young people in Kibera acquire formal training.

Fouché is a gem: an artist with a heart whose jewellery line continues to conglomerate cultures into beautiful treasures of adornment.

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n the sparsely populated Rue Nicolas-Appert, a tinted black Citroen C3 pulled up, its doors flew violently open and out stepped two masked men brazenly baring AK-47s.

Carrying an assortment of weapons, they walked towards a building. Their target: the Charlie Hebdo offices.

Once inside, they massacred the occupants of the office in cold blood.

Before the sirens began to wail, the two assassins departed from the scene of the crime leaving the floors of the offices stained with blood, shards of broken glass littering the asphalt outside. In their wake, the brothers, Cherif and Said Kouachi, left 12 dead, including Stéphane Charbonnier, editor and chief cartoonist of the satirical Charlie Hebdo (Charlie Weekly) news magazine.

The Aftermath

The January cold that characterises Paris, France, became even colder as a sombre mood engulfed the city on Jan. 7 2015.

The massacre drew worldwide condemnation. As the French public coped, vigils and protests were staged.

Politicians from countries like Israel, Mali, Germany, Spain, Ukraine, among others, organised a demonstration to denounce the murders in a million-man match where thousands of placards read: ‘Je Suis Charlie’ which translates to ‘I am Charlie’.

On the other side of the scope, the events in France and violent protests in countries like Niger, exposed the thin line between satire and offence, and the manner in which different populations view it.

“As cartoonists, it’s safe to say we have an unofficial permit [of what] we call the ‘license to offend’, but this does not mean that cartoonists should stamp on this right by offending others. On the other hand, lampooning inculcates a lot of symbolism and not many people understand it. That’s why some sections of the public [may] get irritated as they have not understood the message,” says Celestine Wamiru, a professional illustrator with The People Daily under the nom de plume of Celeste.

The manner in which the assailants chose to express their anger was

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extreme. The front page published

by Charlie Hebdo after the killings, depicting Prophet Muhammad, was viewed as an act of resilience by some and callous by others.

“The staff’s reaction was in bad taste.

Printing more papers with the images of what instigated the killings in the first place was not the right thing to do. They should have sought justice through the legal system,” Wamiru states.

French Parody

One of the factors that is said to have fuelled the French Revolution was satire. For instance, nonconformists, fed up with the monarchy that monopolised power, started distributing pornographic pamphlets of Marie Antoinette. The elite responded by banning cartoons.

This action only agitated the embers of an extensive underground distribution chain of the explicit material. After ten long years of struggle, the monarchy finally fell and satire as a culture thrived. The vigour with which satire roared did not abate and remains to date, in modern day France, where their cartoonists satirise almost everything.

Since then, the off-colour humour has poked fun at a cross-section of people.

Religious figures like Jesus Christ and Muhammad, former monarchs Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI, genius military strategist Napoleon Bonaparte... even Alzheimer’s patients, have not been spared by France’s political humourists.

There have been times when the newspapers went too far. After publishing a fake notice of the death of Charles de Gaulle, the Hara-Kiri magazine was banned in 1970. After its closure, the staff of the defunct magazine went on to establish another one – Charlie Hebdo, a weekly satirical magazine that is loved and loathed in equal measure for its caricatures.

Since the 1970s, Charlie Weekly has depicted Osama Bin Laden dressed as Elvis, drawn the country’s black Justice Minister, Christiane Taubira, as an ape, shown Prophet Muhammad French-kissing their slain editor and chief cartoonist, – a man who intended to carry on until Islam was as banal as Catholicism (a caricature that presumably prompted the Charlie Hebdo attack) – among other images that were considered to be bizarre,

provocative and offensive.

To the French, the massacre was not just an act of terrorism, but a violation on democracy and the freedom of speech and an assault on a treasured French ideal. The peaceful demonstrations and vigils were a sign that a united France was not backing down in their fight to preserve their rich history of tongue-incheek humour.

Lingua Franca of Satire

France is not unique in its use, appreciation and respect for sardonic drawings.

In 2004, the Daily Nation newspaper, a publication that enjoys 75 percent of the Kenyan market, carried out a survey - sampling readers from various towns and cities across Kenya - to

identify what their readers enjoyed most about the newspaper. The survey exposed that 21 percent of respondents stated that a newspaper without an animated drawing was not a worthy purchase. Also uncovered by the survey, was that after headlines, the editorial pages (where most newspapers print the daily editorial cartoons) followed in popularity and that most readers were able to remember these cartoons years after their publication.

Coincidentally, most of the caricatures that the respondents remembered and related with were illustrations of a political nature. One depicted former President Mwai Kibaki with an enlarged nose playing golf and another showed former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and former President Moi as bedfellows.

Godfrey Mwampembwa, pen name Gado, is the most syndicated political cartoonist in East and Central Africa, and for over two decades a contributor to the Daily Nation (Kenya), New African (U.K.), Courier International (France), Sunday Tribune (South Africa), Le Monde, Washington Times, Des Standard, and Japan Times.

“The local political space is such that there is no perceived danger.

The change in regimes – from Moi’s to Kibaki’s – brought about drastic changes in the political landscape. What we as cartoonists feared to illustrate during Moi’s dictatorial era is long gone. If I portray a politician, or anyone else, in such a manner that he/she feels contravenes his basic rights, we can meet in a court of law to sort out the dispute,” Wamiru explains.

Eric ‘Gammz’ Ngamau, a wellrespected cartoonist with The Standard newspaper, echoes Wamiru’s sentiments: “We are deeply saddened by what happened in France. If the perpetrators [of the Charlie Hebdo attack] felt that their rights were being trampled on, they should have sought legal redress.

As cartoonists we have a right to an opinion [and] so does everyone else.”

From Portraiture to Caricature

Sarcastic illustrations have a long and illustrious history dating back to the Renaissance. Leonardo da Vinci, one of the greatest thinkers of the period, was the first person on record to have experimented with cartoons. An artistic genius in his own right, he is credited with conceiving the principles that guide and influence cartoonists today.

Known as a man who viewed and did things differently, he devised an unconventional method of portraiture – caricature.

The idea for caricature came to him when he sought to better understand the concept of ideal beauty, da Vinci is said to have artistically explored “the ideal type of deformity”, according to Caricature from Leonardo to Picasso by art historian Werner Hoffman. He decided to take an artistic exploratory journey through which he stumbled

upon caricature leading to the creation of works like ‘A Grotesques Head’, ‘Grotesque Kopfe’, ‘Ill Matched Couple’ and ‘Cinq Tetes Grotesque’.

The principles for the depiction of form that da Vinci uncovered through his explorative process, created friction amongst his peers, due to their widespread use and acceptance.

Artists like Agostino and Annibale Carraci rebelled against this, creating a kind of ‘counter art’ where an exaggerated representation of the form was used for humorous effect.

Unbeknownst to the two rebels, they would lay the foundation for the use of art as a political tool. Over time, the principles of caricature continued to grow and develop as a tool for rebellion against established systems and gained prominence during the Reformation era. Martin Luther, the religious dissenter, went on to combine the parodies created by caricature with the power of allusion to create a context into which a situation or individual could be placed; the two elements he used would later become vital to political cartoons.

Luther managed to successfully and cunningly alter caricature from a mere form of artistic expression into a genre that would propagate change and lay the foundation for editorial cartoons.

Fed up by the rigid and sometimes unreasonable demands of the Catholic Church, Luther wanted things to be different. “The Catholic Church to him [was] monopolising religion while shoring up wealth,” says Dr. Fred Bosire, a Political Science lecturer at the University of Nairobi (UoN).

To succeed in his quest to subdue the all-powerful Catholic Church, Luther

“Cartoons demystify people in power and bring them down to a level where they can be viewed as normal human beings who make mistakes” Destination Destination March March ���� 2015 105 27

in an imaginative way [and] help say in an implicit way what a reporter may be incapable or unwilling to say explicitly. In a sense, they help push the boundaries of freedom of expression without fear of the consequences associated with saying [something] directly through text,” he adds.

A satirical depiction of Africa’s lack of cooperation with the ICC in it’s recent cases.

relied on two factors for his Protestant Reformation campaign in Germany: an emerging merchant class and the highnumbering, illiterate peasants.

“It turned out the merchants were fed up with the Church as well. Their influence roped in draughtsmen and artists who employed their valuable skills to champion the cause. As for the illiterate, Luther shrewdly preyed on [the] shortcoming [of] their illiteracy to spread broadsheet posters and illustrated leaflets with what he called ‘visual protest’ against the hegemony of the Catholic Church,” says Dr. Bosire.

The success of Luther’s efforts resulted in gross changes for Christianity that created lasting alterations to Christian churches.

“Satire was once the only way for illiterate people to make sense of what was going on in politics.” These are the powerful words from Barry Burden, an outspoken Political Science lecturer at the University of Wisconsin, which describe the impact that Luther’s cartoons had on the masses.

From posters and pamphlets, editorial cartoons, especially those of a political nature, now found their way into the newspapers in the 18th century as new subjects for discussion emerged and

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were followed by subsequent ridicule.

The editorial cartoon had now evolved into a medium of commentary, which took important matters and forked them out in a manner that was not only amusing and socially acceptable, but informed the viewer’s opinion.

Worth a Thousand Words

To get people talking and set the agenda they have in mind, cartoonists use both imagery and text in their illustrations.

This, to an extent, ensures that readers who do not grasp the symbolism fully comprehend what the cartoonists want to communicate. But, is there an advantage to this?

“Cartoons use image and text fused together. Oftentimes, the image is not complete or cannot convey the full meaning without the text, mostly in the form of captions or speech bubbles.

However, the text has to be minimal and allow the image to carry the greater weight in conveying meaning,” says Dr. Sam Kamau, a senior lecturer at the University of Nairobi, School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

“Cartoons play an important role as a form of non-verbal, nontext communication. They help to creatively capture certain realities

The history of political cartoons in Kenya cannot be narrated without mentioning journalism; the two share a symbiotic relationship. Journalism in Kenya is a little over a century old and is often traced back to the East African Standard in 1902, the country’s first newspaper. It is a narrative best told through the prism of a triple-m legacy: missionaries who came and initiated literacy and publication; the mercenaries who followed and furthered the course of journalism through colonial government-sponsored publications; and finally the merchants who took over and commercialised almost all facets of mass media.

Cartoons as a form of humour picked up popularity in the 1950’s with Edward Gicheri Gitau (E.G Gitau), the mind behind the popular Juha Kalulu comic strip, which still runs today. However, the cartoon that really epitomised satire in Kenya was Joe. Considered in the cartoon industry as the pioneers of the political satire genre in Kenya, Terry Hirst partnered with Harvard graduate and journalism legend Hillary Ng’weno to unveil Joe Magazine in early 1970. The monthly publication breathed life into Joe, a character Hirst had created to expose social and political ills that plagued Kenya at the time. Through Joe, readers were able to question the ruling class and became more aware of their social and political rights.

“If there was an issue negatively affecting ordinary people, Hirst ensured that Joe spoke on behalf of the masses.

[Joe] single-handedly cut the key that unlocked the potential of caricatures to tackle any issue. He was actually the inspiration for many of the cartoonists we have today,” Dr. Bosire explains.

Passing the Pen

Joe Magazine closed its doors in 1979 and in its trail emerged other cartoonists such as Ugandan James Tumisiime, Ghanaian Frank Odoi and Tanzanian Philip Ndunguru. Of the

Photographs: Celestine Wamiru, Eric Ngamau, Standard Group,

Enter Hirst and Ng’weno

“The wrought iron of the Eiffel Tower that Parisians take pride in and tourists enjoy had been violently substituted by a different kind of metal ... lead from the barrels of guns” three, Odoi stood out as an influential politically conscious cartoonist. Known for his Akokhan, Golgoti and Driving Me Crazy series’, Odoi began illustrating politically motivated cartoons for the Daily Nation in 1979. The veteran artist, fabled for his cartoons across Africa, became one of the most socially, politically conscious and longest active cartoonists on the Kenyan scene. He was voted Kenya’s Cartoonist of the year in 1985, 1986 and 2004, awarded The Witty Pen Award from the Arctic Comics Society in Finland and was granted the “Best Cartoonist Award” by former President Moi. Sadly, he passed away in a road accident in Nairobi in 2012.

Although many cartoonists have come and gone, the only one who really got a firm grip on the baton from Hirst was political cartoonist, Paul ‘Maddo’ Kelemba. Considered a radical, he did the unthinkable at the time by drawing President Moi as a caricature in the late 1980s. Although such drawings existed widely in the underground newspapers, the publication of such a cartoon was a first for both the artist and the Daily Nation.

Kelemba’s act was considered revolutionary. “Former President Moi ruled with an iron fist. It was unthinkable for anyone to defy, let alone parody him in a respected national newspaper. After the attempted coup, it’s like he had become paranoid. He set out to suppress all forms of dissent amongst Kenyans. Seeing the editorial cartoon was a wake-up call that we needed political change,” says Peter Mwangi, a tour guide and ardent reader of the Daily Nation since the 1970s.

Kelemba has since moved to The Standard newspaper where he continues to draw “It’s a Madd Madd World”, a column that debuted in the Daily Nation in 1989 – a period when the country’s agitation for a multiparty system was gathering pace. The comic strip comments on political and social life with humorous, but informative anecdotes, has endeared it to readers while attracting the wrath of some politicians.

Cartoonist Relief Network, the organisation dedicated to the protection of rights of editorial cartoonists, describes the situation like this: “A cartoonist uses humour to make a point. We draw the public’s attention to serious issues in the political arena. Cartoons demystify people in power and bring them down to a level where they can be viewed as normal human beings who make mistakes. Cartoons serve as a mouth piece for the weaker majority who cannot express themselves.”

“Cartoons help highlight the single most important issue in the news. Cartoons help inform the reader on the most important issue[s] of the day without having to read the full length of a story. They are effective in simplifying complex issues that people can easily understand or relate

to. Most [importantly], in the Kenyan dailies, they help portray serious issues in a humorous, light way [without] eroding the seriousness of the subject. [Although] cartoons can be controversial, they help provoke and drive debate on contentious issues,” says Dr. Kamau.

Kelemba was replaced by Godfrey ‘GADO’ Mwampembwa at the Daily Nation newspaper, a cartoonist also considered by many as a social and political commentator.

As Africa’s most internationally celebrated cartoonist, GADO’s satirical works, which fearlessly depict political incorrectness, have appeared in numerous international publications like New African (UK), Courier International (France), Sunday Tribune (South Africa) and Washington Times (US), among others.

Kenya has gained immensely by having editorial cartoons in the dailies, which have taken the unenviable task of communicating messages deemed too sensitive and prejudicial, to the masses. In the 2004 Daily Nation survey, many respondents also revealed that political cartoonists had inspired the public to be bold and to question politicians on issues affecting their lives. They also were of the opinion that cartoons help shape the local political landscape and have an effect on the behaviour of politicians.

“Political cartoons have contributed immensely to the debate [of issues] in the Kenyan political landscape. After the 2002 elections, all the way to the [general] elections [in] 2007, Uhuru Kenyatta was always portrayed as a child with diapers sucking on a [feeding] bottle. This consistently reinforced his image as kamwana (the immature one), however, [this] changed with time. The political class [were] always portrayed as [being] fat with pig heads and at times, with empty [heads],” explains Dr. Kamau.

“Cartoons help to shape and drive opinion on important political [themes],” he adds.

Challenges Galore

Although animated drawings have become a substantial medium of commentary, which takes serious issues and presents them in an amusing manner, the industry continues to be plagued by challenges and obstacles.

With only five Kenyan dailies in circulation, it is not possible for all cartoonists in Kenya to get published. From time to time, many of these visual artists receive threatening phone calls from people who are unhappy about their portrayal.

There are reports that some local cartoonists take bribes from politicians and powerful individuals who want their rivals’ reputations tarnished.

“Like any other profession, challenges are in plenty. Firstly, the issue of getting paid to embarrass someone is a fallacy.

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Secondly, we have moved to online platforms where it’s possible to selfpublish. Here, our followers can see our past and present cartoons and give instant feedback. Finally, I have not received any threatening phone calls myself, but my colleagues have. We hope this will stop in the future,” says Wamiru.

In the past, one politician did sue The Standard newspaper over a cartoon that Kelemba had drawn, saying that it had defamed her. However, presently no local cartoonists has been sued or jailed due to the degree of freedom enshrined in Kenya’s Constitution.

Nonetheless, their international counterparts have not been so lucky.

At the onset of the 2011 Syrian Civil War, cartoonist Ali Ferzat had his arms broken for depicting Syrian president Bashar al-Assad as a caricature. It is suspected that Ferzat’s hands were targeted as a way of stopping him from drawing cartoons that question Assad’s dictatorial regime.

Artist Kudzanai Chiurai got in trouble with authorities in Zimbabwe after drawing a series of controversial caricatures depicting the new African Union Chairperson, President Robert Mugabe, as a horned head being consumed by flames. The posters he deemed innocuous angered Zimbabwe’s ruling class. Rather than get apprehended, Chiurai chose to flee Zimbabwe.

Despite the challenges, Wamiru explains that the future is very bright. Why? “People have started to view it as a serious profession, which…pays. The online support we are getting from readers is also giving us the needed impetus to expose more social and political evils.”

Cartoonists have the unenviable task of communicating messages deemed too sensitive and deleterious for many in society to express. Through cartoons, they expose abuses of power, government corruption and social injustices, and although they present us with home truths we sometimes avoid, cartoonists empower society with pictures where many cower with words.

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Caricatures depicting inefficient government systems.

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culture

112 July March ���� Destination 68 2014 Destination

ELSPETH HUXLEY’S

THIKA

By Helen Kinuthia Gathenji Destination March Destination July ���� 2014 113 69

T

he wild grass is thick and tall, growing haphazardly in the confined highway divider. It moves rhythmically from side to side as though the wind affecting this motion were a mother gently lulling a baby to sleep.

The soft, furry look makes me want to reach out and run my fingers through it. The morning is clear and bright, the balmy sun already out, but with the promise of much warmer temperatures as the midday hour approaches. I take in a gulp of fresh air as the wind blows through my car window and enjoy the sweet warmth of the sun that spreads lavishly on my bare skin.

An untouched expanse of land – a rare thing along the Nairobi-Thika stretch today – emerges as I drive along the smooth asphalt of the Thika highway, and somewhere far ahead I spot nondescript hills, before they are quickly obscured by tall buildings that now line the modern thoroughfare to Thika town. The wilderness that once was, 100-plus years back when Europeans and Asians first moved to the area, is no more, and neither are the scores of wildlife that roamed the open plains freely. This was no man’s land in those days and travelling in a car to Thika, or even the trip taking just 45 minutes, would have been an inconceivable luxury. As I cruise the highway, other motorists whizzing past me, it’s incredible that it could all have been so different. But it was.

“Thika in those days – the year was 1913 – was a favourite camp for big-game hunters and beyond it there was only bush and plain,” inscribed The Flame Trees of Thika novelist, Elspeth Huxley. At 6 years old, Huxley and her mother, Nellie Grant, took on a two-day journey from Nairobi via ox-cart and made their way to settle in Thika, a lonely piece of earth on a map, in a land that was itself, little more. Then, if one was not walking the 40km distance – though that figure varied considerably depending upon the quality of shortcuts used – to and from the capital city as most natives did, you were riding in an ox-cart, which was a privilege of sorts.

Those who walked trekked a path through towering forests, cut out by others who’d made the journey before, a trip that would start at first light. While the human population then was diminutive in the area, the wildlife was plentiful, and running into them was not uncommon.

I pull up to the traffic lining Garissa Road before branching onto Kenyatta Highway, which leads into the now bustling town. Where there were no buildings before, erected structures occupy the streets, archaic in the pale morning light. Their yellow, blue, green and red paint coatings appear washed out, and the characteristic red soil of the old town embellishes the offices, businesses and hotels with its own layer of pigment. I drive past a fuelling station lined with noisy matatus; past parked tuk tuks and motorbikes waiting to offer any of the many pedestrians a ride; past the post office and at least three different banks; past a large supermarket – all the way down a narrow road lined with parked cars.

A lot has certainly changed, but the leafy, green trees, the

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rich red soil and the roaring Chania and Thika Falls, which even then were a sight to behold, remain a testament to a land that once was.

Untamed Territory

December 1901 saw the completion of the railway line, commonly referred to as the Lunatic Express. However, what would become one of Britain’s major investments in the colony proved initially unprofitable, as local Africans were averse to utilising the mode of transport for trade. This was “a great encircling continent where cities, friends, and civilised ways were not to be found,” Huxley wrote, “not for thousands and thousands of miles across plain and bush and forest.”

Determined to develop some business around the railway line and create commercial usage, Britain widely marketed the protectorate for its investment opportunities, land and good farming climate.

Allen Charles Harries was 53 years old when he first heard about British East Africa, seated at a bar in South Africa.

“My great-grandfather [Essex Harries] left Wales in 1836 or somewhere around there for South Africa,” says Mike Harries as he recounts his family history. “My grandfather [Allen Charles Harries] was born in South Africa in about 1850, after the family had been there for a few years. They were farmers and I think the Boer War had a very negative effect on the family fortune. I think the farm went through a very difficult time.”

In Kenya, the plains and bush and forest that were Thika were home to a small populace of Kikuyu, Masaai and Kamba people before pioneers and settlers relocated to the area, almost at the turn of the 20th century. “At the end of the 1800s, there was a lot of rinderpest,” Mike states, adding that it had affected the cattle, and smallpox had affected the people. “So, there was a lot of death of people and livestock and the population was largely decimated. When the first wazungus [Caucasians] started wandering around here, this was an empty piece of land.” And that land was free for all, the concept of selling it, not to mention the use of paper currency, unheard of by the locals. “People would go into the forest, because it was not owned by anyone, clear up the piece of land they wanted and it was theirs,” says 89-year-old James Njuguna, a native of the region. Ninety-one-year-old Evans Njoroge, a neighbour, close friend and relation to James, agrees – “People owned land wherever they farmed.”

But for settlers and pioneers, finding fertile land to farm in such a vast country as Kenya was not resolved by merely making their way into the territory. For one, the natives occupied parts of the country, wildlife was wide-ranging and rampant, and finding areas with adequate water resources was always challenging. Nonetheless, in 1904, Allen made his way to Mombasa and then into Nairobi, along with his son, nearly 10 years before Huxley’s father, Major Josceline Grant, made the same trip. Over a period of six weeks, Allen and his son would traverse the Kenyan plains – Naivasha, Kericho, Nanyuki – in search of ideal settling grounds.

For Major Grant however, he “had picked out on a map five hundred acres of blank space with a wriggling line, presumed to be a river, on each side,” noted Huxley, paying GBP £4 per acre, a purchase made at the bar of the Norfolk Hotel. So, on that hot day in 1913, the oxen trudged along the dirt road,

The retail and agricultural store Shah Vershi Devshi & Co. Ltd, which was started by three brothers and a cousin in Thika, 1919. They not only provided retail products and farming supplies, but fuel to run vehicles that were introduced in the area shortly after they came into the country in 1914.

thick hooves and large, round iron wheels swathed by spongy African earth with each step. There was not a shrub or leaf within eye level that wasn’t wearing a coat of the red soil that seemed to rise effortlessly with every gust of wind.

The air was teeming with heat and it helped none that every cloud of red dust enveloped and concealed Huxley and her mother, prickling their noses and clinging to any bit of exposed, moist skin. Untamed territory is where they now were. This was a world of nothingness and abundance; a place that promised grand adventure, but just as much, hardships and great toil. Here, their dreams could be as vast as the land that stretched as far as the eye could see. It was grasping and making those dreams a reality that would prove to be the challenge.

The Birmingham of Kenya

There is an ancient feel that envelopes this town, and though making my way about the streets of Thika is taxing with the hordes of people walking and many cars on the road, that lingering historic aspect does not escape me, carved, particularly, in the old clock tower still planted at the roundabout on Kwame Nkurumah Road. The town abounds with stores, mobile phone and accessory shops almost wiping out the provisional and agricultural stores that were customary in the 1900s. These shops were owned by Indians who settled here, the earliest – Shah Meghji Ladha and Meghji Kanji – coming to the area in 1910. “The Indians were some of the first immigrants there. They built shops and homes out of iron sheets,” James recalls. “The whites came shortly after that to Thika and started coffee plantations,” Evans continues.

I make my way to Sat Punja’s house, just across the bridge from Chania Falls. I’m trailing David Harries (another of Allen’s grandson’s), who, after my exploration of the town, I’ve spent the morning with. We get on a dirt road once we are past the bridge and on the other side of the Thika Super Highway. There are new villas coming up in the area and large lived-in mansions on either side of the road. Sat’s house is

safely tucked off the dirt road on a slight bend. “I have lived here for 50 years now,” Sat professes after we get to his home and settle in his living room. The home is comfy, the couch’s fluffiness wrapping me up in comfort. It’s a modern-day stone built home, nothing resembling the old Asian housing. “In those days, in Thika town, there were not more than 10 cars.

Now to find where to park – there is no place,” the elderly lawyer sighs. Courteously, he begins to tell me of the Asians who first moved to the area, “Shah Vershi has controlled most of it,” he says in relation to the start of stores and businesses in Thika.

At least a half century before Sat would call Thika home, an Ismaili by the name of Jamal Hirji Ojami opened the first store in 1914. Kanji Mepa & Co. also started a store in Saba Saba, and soon after, in 1919, three brothers and a cousin – Shree Vershi Mepa, Mulji Mepa, Devshi Mepa and Devshi Hadha – started Shah Vershi Devshi & Co., which specialised in retail products and farming supplies. “They became the major provider of provisions for farmers,” David inserts.

Gradually, the settlement was being transformed from a sparsely populated bush area to a growing industrial town.

However, before the town, once known only as Chania Bridge, would attain its name, history indicates that the Maasai and Kikuyu communities that lived here battled fiercely over the area where the pools of water from Rivers Chania and Thika provided ideal grounds for the grazers and farmers, respectively. “This area in Thika,” David points out, “the Maasai didn’t really fancy it for grazing, but, [nonetheless], they did come here and graze, and then they had conflict with the Kikuyu who lived higher up because they were arable farmers and they wanted to be somewhere where rainfall was guaranteed and crops were assured.”

The many tribesmen that perished were buried there, this potentially being the origin of the town’s name, “Guthika”, which means “to bury” in Kikuyu.

Nonetheless, in 1924, the name Thika was made official and the place finally chronicled. Thika would expand to become a prominent metropolis, the setting of major industries,

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Making a Home in Thika

Another trip into the town, and I’m struck not only by the convenience of how close Thika is to Nairobi, but how built up it is compared to many of the country’s other satellite towns. Off exit 16 on the Thika Superhighway, I hit a dirt road with rocks jutting here and there. Parked on one side of the road is a line of lorries with drivers, who, when commissioned, will drive down the same winding road I’m on to a quarry not far off and load the trucks with blocks of construction stone. This is Harries Road, named after the family when they acquired the land. “He came to this place,” Mike, a lean, tall fellow, tells me of his grandfather as we sit across from each other in his office. It’s an oldish concrete building that seems to have been host to important meetings over the years, and remains rooted in its place, even as “the landscape has changed dramatically,” Mike conveys, “because back 110 years ago, most of this was open plains with very few trees.” It’s a 7km drive into the property, the road not lacking activity as pedestrians walk by and motorbikes ride past me, a notable distinction from former times.

Even so, it was a good location, one that not only offered an expanse of 5,000 acres for possession, but whose nearness to a consistent water supply made it ideal for would-be farmers.

Remnants of 100-year-old coffee trees still exist on the Harries farm, a representation of history, the start of which was not an easy feat. “When [my family] first came here, they thought well, what do we grow? They came with a little bit of money, but not much,” Mike says, explaining that the only fancy thing about the home was a piano and a cooking stove, both unique to the area. David had indicated that a lot of settlers who came to the area, including Huxley and her parents, “were of British aristocracy, of British English Anglo-origin. When we came here in 1904, there was nothing aristocratic about

the Harries family, whereas when you go to the Grants, the Delameres, they all had titles and most of them came with a bit of wealth.”

But the one affinity that they shared was that they all owned tracts of land that were barren, and toil, sweat and hard work would be the determinant factor to their successes and continued survival. The realities of Africa at that point quickly became an equalising factor. The land Major Grant had obtained was in the middle of ‘nowhere’, shrouded in grass, shrub and rocks. “If it was not quite all that Tilly [Nellie], at any rate, had expected, it was nevertheless there, under all that coat of grass and bush,” Huxley recorded in her autobiography. “There was order waiting to be created out of wilderness, a home out of bush, a future from a blank and savage history, a fortune from raw materials that were, as they then existed, of no conceivable value at all.”

Firstly, they had to build homes, and because of the nature of the land and available resources in those days, “houses were built using sticks and grass and cow dung,” James had narrated. “The sticks were planted into the ground in a circular design, in two rows. In between, the sticks were tightly stuffed with leaves and grass, then finally held together using cow dung.” He and Evans had taken a moment to laugh – that disbelieving laugh of two old men, two old friends, who’ve come from an overly simplistic life to stone homes and roads with cars. “This home was the living room, the kitchen, the bedroom and the goat shed,” he’d continued, Evans adding, “The houses had no windows; they were built plainly, the inside lined with a type of fern plant and grass.”

There was no need for nails, or wood, to hold the house together, nor was there partitioning to determine what room was what. It was one round unit, a rondavel, something that Huxley’s father could not comprehend. Mike recalls that his family, “For the first 10 or 12 years, they just lived in a mud hut with a thatched roof.” Not so with Major Grant. He wanted a rectangular home with two bedrooms and a living room. The Kikuyu men that he’d commissioned to help him questioned his idea, because in their tradition a house had no corners and was built in a day – any later would mean the

Pre-colonial Blue Post Hotel, a modern looking establishment today, was a rest spot for pioneers and settlers travelling between Nairobi and Nyeri, where they could get a bite to eat, a drink or spend the night before going on with their journey.

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Photographs: Courtesy of The Visa Oshwal Community Thika, Linda Gumoes

including Kenya Canners, which later became Del Monte. In those early years, “everything was Asian owned,” says Sat, “But for Edmunds Butchery, which was the only European owned retail store in Thika,” a bespectacled David inserts. “They called Thika the industrial town, the Birmingham of Kenya.”

welcoming of evil spirits to dwell in the structure. Regardless, he purchased long nails from an Indian shop, which to his frustration soon vanished, no thanks to the Kikuyu’s fascination and curiosity over the thick, iron pins.

“Those things,” Huxley noted one Kikuyu telling her father, “they are useful, but it is wrong to put iron in houses. Iron is for weapons and for ornament. Let us build the house according to our custom and keep the iron for bigger things.”

And so they compromised, building her father’s design, but with traditional materials. Everything was peculiar, as Huxley notes, from the ticks and painfully stinging red ants to the creepy crawlies that homed with them, to the black python nestled in a cave by the river, to the smell of the land and the people. But, as everything with time, they’d soon become accustomed to their surroundings and their native neighbours.

Life, As it Was

“A white man was referred to as bwana and a woman as memsab,” says James, and in Huxley’s case little memsab, because she was young. It must have been intriguing to see a person with skin, as the natives referred to it, the colour of the underbelly of a frog. These were people who’d lived in a natural habitat, knowing only their kind and benefiting from what nature bestowed upon them. They were guided by customary laws that everyone adhered to and sought to adapt to nature rather than alter it. I imagine this introduction of another ‘strange’ people in the locale must have been daunting, not to mention the new inventions they came with.

In her book, Huxley reflected on how, even though the Kikuyu had names for trees, plants and birds, they took no possession of their country; “They had not aspired to recreate or change or tame the country and to bring it under their control.” That, however, was about to change.

“The first thing they tried,” Mike recollects of the early attempts to utilise the land beneficially, “was ostriches, because in those days the wazungus in Europe used ostrich feathers in their hats as it was fashionable.” This source of income was shortly banished by Queen Alexandra based on cruelty to the animal, leaving the Harries family with 200 ostriches that, when set free on the outskirts of the farm, found their way back to the homestead. Mike lets my laughter die down before he tells me that soon after they got rid of them, they tried a little bit of market gardening and managed to acquire some livestock. The cousins – Mike and David – today live about 15km from one another, much of the land acquired by their grandfather sold or donated for community development over the years.

When she wrote, “The natives of Africa had accepted what God, or nature, had given them without apparently wishing to improve upon it in any given way,” Huxley was quite right.

Before Europeans appeared, food grown was limited to what the land provided and what crops, to that point, they were aware of.

And even though nature was, for the most part, unaffected, the local communities grew what they could, which according to James, “wasn’t much of a variety. We used to plant mwere (millet), njahi (black beans), njũgũ (red/white beans), thuu (small green peas) and thoroko (small peas).” A range of fruits

and vegetables were introduced, and as intriguing as it was to the local inhabitants, it must have been quite challenging for the influx of white farmers, not forgetting that the crops were just as new to the uncultivated land, wild grazers and scorching environment as the planter was to the area.

When they were not destroying the crop or stealing livestock from the homes, wild animals made for much entertainment. “If you went beyond Ol Donyo Sabuk, that was the wilderness, full of wildlife in those days,” says David, remembering how safaris, camping and game hunting then were ideal pastimes. Still, their way of life to the native was like chalk and cheese. For where the African had used spears, bows and arrows to hunt, the settler used a long weapon – a gun – that made a loud noise when fired. “There were no matchboxes, so our fathers would light fires by rubbing sticks together,” utters James. To see a matchstick light up by striking it against a box was a thing of wonder, he tells me with a smile that reveals gaps in both his upper and lower front teeth. “The sight of a tongue of flame imprisoned in a bubble, independent and mobile,” wrote Huxley, of Africans first witnessing a lantern, “must have appeared altogether miraculous to those confronted with it for the first time.”

But these miraculous wonders are what would bring the communities together. “We as kids enjoyed mixing freely,” David remembers, “but as you grew up, then tradition sort of dictated that we went into the English system. But that’s the way it was in those days. The Asians went to their schools in Thika and the Africans had their schools.” However, the farms wouldn’t do without the services offered by Africans, and neither would the crops germinate without the range of agricultural products sold by the Asians. In a roundabout way, it was a give and take, the marvels of Africa being things Huxley and others would not have been exposed to in England, nor would have the local people and land been introduced to new inventions and methods of crop growing.

Blue Post

Streams of water gently flow under the Chania Bridge, an old, narrow, structure – which was much younger when Huxley crossed it for the first time, as she made her way into the country – with iron bars on either side. “We came at last to a stone bridge over the Chania River, newly built, and considered to be a great achievement,” she penned. The pool of water runs quietly before suddenly gushing into a beautiful cascade, the forceful spurt a tranquil, pleasant sound. The Blue Post Hotel, founded in 1908, is just around the corner, the makuti thatched entrance – stunningly encircled with flowers and perfectly trimmed shrubs – instantly welcoming.

David Kuria, who has worked at the hotel since the 80s, will tell me in a while that the place hasn’t changed much since the days of Edward Sergent’s ownership, who himself acquired the place from its initial owner, Captain Ward, described by Huxley as “a military-looking, sprucely-dressed man with a bald head and a long moustache, who had the misfortune to be very deaf.”

Before making their way to what would become their home, Kitimuru Farm – the stream running through the land evoking the name – Huxley and her mum made a stop at Blue Post. “It consisted of a low-roofed, thatched grass hut whose

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From top clockwise: Thika was one of the areas that attracted many immigrants who chose to settle in Kenya and make a home. It was also a cross road for many travellers within the country and neighbouring regions; A rondavel, or traditional house, in Thika built out of mud and wattle, with a thatched roof; Today’s Mary Hill Girls High School in Thika is rated amongst the top schools in the country. It however started out as Thika White Sisters Mission before it was transformed to a girls school; In the early 1900s, the road from Nairobi to Thika was a rugged dirt highway, nothing compared to the eight-lane superhighway that currently exists; A Kikuyu woman dressed in traditional garb and ornaments takes a moment from her chores.

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veranda posts were painted blue and gave the place its name,” wrote Huxley. I walk up a small ramp with thick ropes over wooden handles, to Sergent’s Bar. Blue neon lights illuminate the semi-circular bar. Two strong pillars in the middle of the room, tightly wound in brown rope, support the building.

“The colonialists used to come in on horses and on those pillars,” Kuria explains, as he points to the popular pillars whose blue colour is now concealed, “that’s where they’d tie their horses and then get a drink.”

Outside, the grounds are pristine, beautified by trees of sorts. A variety of guests lunched on a sumptuous display of salads and entrées, an indulgence preserved back then for only the Europeans, Africans and Asians not permitted in the premises. There wasn’t really much to it then besides the bar, just three rooms for guests and some stables for the horses.

It was “the main pub, a social waterhole for people from Nairobi,” as Mike remembers it, particularly settlers who were travelling between Nairobi and Nyeri.

In modern times, there’s much to keep one occupied at Blue Post; the animal orphanage, where a large ostrich walks freely about, reminiscent of bygone years, and the African curios fashioned from modern designs, yet sold in mud huts, are a testimony of how time continues along its way. It’s the voluble Thika Falls that grab my attention, however, naturally beautiful and still gushing water after all these years.

A Town Forms

The region was picking up as more settlers moved to the area. A town was steadily forming around Asians, Whites and Africans, and while they all had their distinctive qualities – Asians were business minded, Whites were farmers and Africans were herders – it seemed that they were all striving to better themselves – Asians looking to grow their businesses, Whites farming extensively and Africans observing and absorbing what they could from these new people in their land. The first car in the country was introduced in 1914, shortly after the railway line from Nairobi to Thika was established in 1913. Transport woes thus became somewhat resolved. In 1922, the Thika Sports Club was erected, and two years later, electricity was introduced, as was the Thika Water Works. But one thing that remained asunder were relations amongst the three communities. “We had a working culture where you integrated,” explains David, but “social life was quite segregated.”

While social integration issues would not be resolved until the 60s, work relations continued to mature. Captain Herbert Cowie, who lived in Parklands, Nairobi, was an importer of produce. As it happens, one of his introductions to the country was pineapple, but unfortunately they were not taking root in Nairobi. Frustrated, he tossed them out, only to have them picked up by Mike and David’s grandmother, who was Herbert’s mother-in-law. The pineapples were planted on the Harries farm, and with a combination of weather, soil and time, they thrived. By the time the Second World War ended and the labours of coffee planting started to materialise, Bobs Harries, Mike’s father “had probably more than 50 acres of pineapples for the local market.”

In 1948, with companies such as The Kenya Tanning Extract Co. Ltd and City Brewery Ltd, among other companies,

putting the metropolis on the map, “a man from England called Theo West, who ran a big canning operation in England, decided to expand into pineapple production,” reveals Mike.

“He went into partnership with my father and in 1949 started Kenya Canners Ltd, which was bought out by Del Monte in about 1965.” International markets making their way into Thika and increasing industrialisation gave birth to the city, the population growing from 4,500 people in 1948, to nearly – according to David’s estimate – 500,000 today.

A Revelation of Time and Toil

“We came up as, probably, pioneers in Africa,” says David referring to his family. “It wasn’t really the sort of venturous drama a British person might find if they came out here for the first time living amongst wild animals.” It’s difficult to determine how life will turn out, more difficult even, I’d imagine, when one ventures into untried and unfamiliar territory. “Doesn’t it strike you as strange that nothing people have created here has survived?” Huxley narrated one of her then neighbour’s concerns. “Not even a few traces? No ruin of cities or temples – no ancient over-grown roads – no legends of past empires – no statues hidden in the ground – no tombs or burial mounds? No sign that generations of people have lived here, lived and died.”

Today there are three temples in the town. Surrounding Thika War Cemetery, which salutes Second World War veterans, the buildings are aged, telling of years passed and the many who have lived and died in the years since it was established.

No longer is it just grass and plains with Acacia trees as David remembers it, his overriding recollections being of retail services – cobblers, tailors and hair dressers – provided by Asians. “There are still remnants of that left, but now Thika is just a hub of mini-let shops. I just remember the spaciousness of it all.”

That largess still prevails, albeit taken up now less by animals and plains and more by people and buildings. Ol Donyo Sabuk is now a national park, sheltering the animals from the everexpanding urbanisation. All the same, there are parts of Thika, at least, where one can still enjoy the beauty and shade of its prominent trees.

“The classical tree here is the Muhuti (Flame) tree,” says David and after a heartbeat adds, “But there is a dispute as to whether Huxley is talking about the Nandi Flame Tree or the Red Hot Poker Tree.” That we might never know for sure, but one certain thing is that she never forgot her Thika, or Africa for that matter, making frequent trips to the country and the continent before she passed away on Jan. 10, 1997. “It was, as I remember, a cloudy day, with a sky of storms, low and threatening. Yet the sun threw long, triumphant shafts down the ridges to make huts and trees and goats look hard and solid, as if carved from wood, like objects in a toy farmyard,” inscribed Huxley of her final day in Thika.

“Perhaps it is all a mistake, our trying to change them, and introduce new worries, like Time’s winged chariot hurrying near,” Huxley wrote, quoting one of their neighbour friends. But I think, possibly, it was inevitable that change would eventually take place. How wondrous it is that a land, which at first glance may appear empty, desolate and insufficient, would, in its own appointed time, turn about to reveal all its abundance.

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around the world

Destination brings you the weirdest and wackiest stories from every corner of the globe If one attempts breaking out of jail, and succeeds, disappearing from the grid would be the next natural step.

But one French murderer, who escaped from a Swiss prison, did the opposite after successfully managing to make a run for it. The 38-year-old man, who had been serving a 15-year sentence at a semi-open Geneva penal institution for brutally murdering a prostitute, sparked an international manhunt when he failed to return to his cell after spending the day labouring outside the prison. Interestingly, when his prison quarters were searched, the guards realised the prisoner had taken time out to pen a letter to his mother explaining that he needed four to five days off and vowed to turn himself in once he had taken “some air”.

“I will behave while I’m on the lam,” he promised in the letter. And, true to his word, the man walked back into the prison four days later. Following his four-day hiatus, he will be transferred to a closed facility but his initial sentence, set to last through 2019, will not be prolonged.

Yahoo

WHAT GOES AROUND

Our intentions and actions influence our future – a lesson Selvakumar from India learned the hard way when he was forced to marry a dog to lift a curse. In a traditional Hindu ceremony at a temple in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, the 33-year-old married a dog to atone for stoning two other dogs to death and stringing them up in a tree 15 years ago. After the killings, he became speech impaired, deaf in one ear and paralysed. When his condition didn’t change after numerous visits to several specialists, he sought out an astrologer, who revealed that the farmer had been cursed by the dogs’ spirits, and the only way to undo the curse was to marry a dog and live with it. So, in the presence of family and friends, the desperate farmer wed Selvi, a stray dog. Due to the large crowd, Selvi, who was in a sari, tried to make a run for it but was tracked down and returned to her husband. “The dog is only for lifting the curse and after that, he plans to get a real bride,” a friend of the groom said.

Metro

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THE BRAWLING JUDGE

When things are spiralling out of control in a courtroom, the judge, being the one with a level head, maintains the peace. But it seems Judge John Murphy from Brevard County, Florida, had woken up on the wrong side of the bed as he blew a gasket when he entered his courtroom. The judge grew angry when Andrew Weinstock, a lawyer, refused to waive his client’s constitutional right to a speedy trial. “If you want to fight, let’s go out back and I’ll just beat your ass,” Murphy said, adding that if he had a rock he’d throw it at Weinstock if he didn’t sit down and stop pissing him off. But, after Weinstock refused to sit and waive his client’s rights, the judge issued the challenge before walking out the back door and into the hallway, where he grabbed the lawyer by the collar and began punching him in the head before deputies came to his rescue. After the altercation, Murphy said he needed a moment to catch his breath. The judge, who’s said to have a good reputation in court, will have to seek anger management counselling before he is allowed to return to the bench.

Reuters

THE NEW ENERGY DRINK

To boost their stamina, athletes will at times opt to use performanceenhancing drugs, which is illegal. But it seems that some male athletes have found a legal secret weapon – breast milk.

Anthony, an athlete from Queens, USA, who doesn’t use energy supplements, deems the milk a natural and sustainable alternative.

The father of four started drinking breast milk after the birth of his first child because he reasoned what’s good for babies must be good for adults too. Although his wife isn’t over the moon about it, he’s convinced of its efficacy: “I believe it has kept me from getting sick all these years.” However, though some studies have suggested breast milk could help fight cancer cells, mainstream medicine remains skeptical. Whether true or not, it’s clear that there are those who will go to any length just to win. If you’d like to purchase some, online stores, such as Only the Breast, sell the milk for about USD $2.50 per ounce.

Metro

Photographs: Thinkstock

PRISON BREAK

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WE WANT TO KNOW Each month DM catches up with one of East Africa’s local celebrities to find out some interesting titbits. This month we chatted with an Afrofusion artiste

Fena Gitu

What is the hardest thing you have ever done?

Putting out my debut album. Lots of hard work and tears.

What is the farthest you have been from home?

The States for about three months when I was a kid.

What’s the one thing that makes you unique?

My songwriting skills.

What is your greatest regret?

None I can think of.

If you were to evacuate your house immediately, what is the one thing that you would grab on your way out?

My wallet and phone – two things. Oh, and maybe a pair of sunglasses, you know, in case where I’m being evacuated to gets sunny.

Other than music, what is the one cause that you feel most passionate about?

Mental health, depression. There is not enough being done in Kenya to deal with it. I’ve seen people close to me go through it and it’s not pretty.

What bad habit would you be willing to give up if it guaranteed you will live to be 150?

Eating junk food.

What is the one thing you learned in school that serves no purpose in your life?

Algebra. Y? See what I did?

Who is your inspiration?

I get inspiration from all over the place, but I grew up looking up to Missy Elliott.

If you weren’t a singer what would you be doing?

I’d probably be a diplomat of sorts as I studied International Relations, but I really wanted to be a pilot.

What misconception about you would you like to clear up?

That I’m unapproachable. I’m just painfully shy.

If you had to be an animal, which one would you be and why?

If you could pick a day this past year and relive it, which would it be? Why?

A tiger. Such a beautiful beast!

What is the first thing you notice about people?

Missy Elliot and/or Pharell [Williams]. And Beyonce. Why? Because it’s BEYONCE.

What is your favourite guilty pleasure?

If you could only have one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Photographs: Courtesy of Fena Gitu

Performing in Joburg, it was quite exhilarating.

Their accessories.

Sunglasses and watches.

What is the most played song on your playlist?

“Don Gorgon” by Burna Boy

What is your favourite quote(s)?

To thine own self be true.

Which celebrity do you get mistaken for?

If you could spend the day with any other celebrity, who would it be? And why?

Pilau and stew.

What’s the best compliment you have received?

My clever lyrics.

What is your favourite childhood memory?

Playing hide-and-seek – so much I had to sing about it.

Hmm...Keko from Uganda.

If we gave you an elephant where would you hide it?

What was the last movie, TV show or book that made you cry or tear up?

What is the biggest personal change you’ve ever made?

Grey’s Anatomy.

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In my room so I can address it.

Eating healthier, but I still have a long way to go.

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