We need details on our national icons to honour them better

If you ask any Kenyan what are some of the iconic structures in Kenya, what are they likely to say? The Kenya Railway Headquarters, Holy Family Basilica or Kenyatta International Convention Centre. Iconic structures hold abundant history you are honoured to behold a glimmer of their legacy. Oh, but what if any of these buildings were named in your honour? Would you be immortalised, generations uttering your name decade after decade?

Perhaps not. In the absence of knowing the legacy of the honouree, it is just another name on a building.

DAUDI KABAKA

We are in awe of past heroic icons, some of whom we are privileged to still have amongst us. Those who have preceded, legacies quite intimidating, their names we may not be worthy of uttering. Among these legends, Wangari Maathai; oh, if history judges the greatest as one who fills most of her pages. There is the formidable Daudi Kabaka and the exceptional Pamela Jelimo.

Did you carry out a Google search to find out who any of these people are? Indeed, it is rather disheartening we now have to rely on the internet to teach us our history. Now, a Google doodle of the icon on their birthday is the reminder of who our legends are. As the rest of the world clamours in the Google search race and partly or wholly forms misconstrued opinions from their searches, we now get aggravated. What were we doing during the year to ensure the most accurate information was accessible and we were informed? It is rather benign to act retrospectively calling out others when you did nothing to negate the unfortunate situation.

PAMELA JELIMO

Piteously, we all arise from history lesson dozes when an icon dies. Oh, the sheer volume of threads on Twitter calling for the immortalisation of those we admired. ‘She/he was well loved, we should have...’ Is there a particular reason you did not make this call to action while they were still alive? Oh how you ask, with the same boldness we send letters to editors, tweets to President Uhuru Kenyatta or make our grievances known on radio and television.

As you read this article, is there an icon we should honour and remember? How about starting your campaign now? Naturally, we will vastly differ in opinion on who should be honoured as Senator Mutula Kilonzo Jr learnt last week; at least make your case known. If you do not speak up, we may just inadvertently forget an unrepeatable international and national legacy. Ten years ago, Jelimo became the first woman to win Olympic gold for Kenya. This is an undisputed legend!

KENNETH MATIBA

I cannot deny, this article has been inspired partly by the audacious speech by Economic Freedom Fighters political party leader, Julius Malema. He called on the South African government to honour Winnie Mandela by renaming Cape Town International Airport, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Airport. The other reason is the sad demise of our political icon Kenneth Matiba. I could say name a road after him, but that could one day be rerouted and replaced with buildings. Or erect a monument in his honour, but this could be torn down. What about naming a building after him? The building could be neglected as years go by, a dilapidated eyesore not worthy of beholding the name Kenneth Matiba.

So how do we truly honour an icon? You immortalise their legacy. A periodic refresher of the icons of our time will sustain the history lessons or moments learnt years ago. Appropriately, a big onus is on main stream media to re-educate us taking into consideration your vast coveted archives.

PORTRAIT GALLERY

A tiny section of today in history in the paper does not capture the crux of what really happened that day. How about an extract of the paper that headlined this historic moment? We too want to be part of this historic moment to share in our predecessors’ time. For television, an hourly show, ‘This week in History’ showcasing achievements of our legends is befitting. With every information gained it will spark our interest to research further, rather than wait for a national incident to send us to the archives.

The government also holds a vital role in keeping legacies alive. Have you visited the Kenyan National Archives website lately? An updated collective source of Kenyan history that is instantly accessible is hastily needed. Lastly, ‘The Kenyan National Portrait Gallery’–an exhibition to examine the legacy of our historians.

Is this too much to ask in honour of our icons?