Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • Francis Atwoli Right of Reply On Editorial by The Star

    Uploaded by

    The Star Kenya
    2K views2 pages
    1) The editorial by The Star newspaper arguing against naming roads or structures after people who are still alive is misplaced. 2) Heroes and heroines should be celebrated while they are still alive to inspire them and show appreciation for their contributions. 3) Many great Kenyan leaders and athletes have had things named after them while alive, such as Moi and Mandela, and there is nothing wrong with continuing this practice to honor remarkable individuals.

    Original Description:

    Francis Atwoli Right of Reply on Editorial by the Star

    Original Title

    Francis Atwoli Right of Reply on Editorial by the Star

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Report this Document
    1) The editorial by The Star newspaper arguing against naming roads or structures after people who are still alive is misplaced. 2) Heroes and heroines should be celebrated while they are still alive to inspire them and show appreciation for their contributions. 3) Many great Kenyan leaders and athletes have had things named after them while alive, such as Moi and Mandela, and there is nothing wrong with continuing this practice to honor remarkable individuals.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    2K views2 pages

    Francis Atwoli Right of Reply On Editorial by The Star

    Uploaded by

    The Star Kenya
    1) The editorial by The Star newspaper arguing against naming roads or structures after people who are still alive is misplaced. 2) Heroes and heroines should be celebrated while they are still alive to inspire them and show appreciation for their contributions. 3) Many great Kenyan leaders and athletes have had things named after them while alive, such as Moi and Mandela, and there is nothing wrong with continuing this practice to honor remarkable individuals.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 2

    Right of Reply on Editorial by the Star

    Celebrate your heroes and heroines whilst they are still alive

    By Francis Atwoli

    “Reverse naming of Francis Atwoli Road”, read the editorial piece by the Star newspaper on 16
    June, 2021. In substantiating their claim, the Star editors thought it wise that a man should only
    be celebrated, in this manner, when they are gone. They argued that it is wrong to name or
    rename ANY road, public building or structure in honour of a man or a woman, who is still alive,
    their remarkable achievements and service to humanity notwithstanding.
    To put it bluntly, the editorial by the star newspaper is misplaced. This is because we ought to
    learn to celebrate our heroes and heroines whilst they are still alive. Indeed, it defies logic to put
    a claim that one ought to be celebrated after they are gone.
    This country has had remarkable men and women who ought to have been celebrated when they
    were still alive. Of what benefit, if I may ask, is celebrating Wangari Mathaathai, Oginga
    Odinga, Masinde Muliro, Tom Mboya, Ronald Ngala now? These are people who ought to have
    been celebrated when they are still alove. Is the Star, for instance, telling us that great athletes
    like Eliud Kipchoge should not be celebrated?
    Even though one might argue, such is done for the sake of immortalization, it would benefit one
    to know that, indeed, they are loved and celebrated in their own country. Such actions inspire
    those being celebrated to continue service selflessly and continue doing good for the betterment
    of society.
    Interestingly, the same people who call out the government for celebrating some of the
    remarkable men and women, when they are still alive, criticize the same government vehemently
    whenever it emerges that they are not taking care of men and women who have brought this
    country pride.
    A case in point is when it emerged that Conjestina Achieng, a boxer who brought this country
    pride, had been neglected. Kenyans, in their numbers, took it to social media to call out the
    government for neglecting Conjestina and not treating her like a great athlete. I wonder what
    would have happened if they, over and above taking care of her, named a boxing arena in one of
    the major stadiums after her. Doesn’t she qualify for it?
    If our history is anything to go by, President Jomo Kenyatta, President Moi and President Kibaki
    were honoured and celebrated whilst alive. And as a patriotic Kenyan, I must say, this was a
    good thing.
    I am yet to meet anybody claiming they will not attend a football match at the Moi International
    Sports Center (Kasarani) simply because it was named after Moi when he was still alive. In fact,
    thousands upon thousands of Kenyan parents struggle to get their children to some of the “Moi”
    schools considering their sterling performance in the KCPE and KCSE exams.
    The same can be said about Nelson Mandela and other great leaders in Africa. Mandela had
    many things named after him when he was still alive. And this was to honour a man who had
    done so much for his country and the continent.
    This is why the argument by the editorial is misplaced. There is nothing wrong with honouring
    great men and women that this country has produced when they are still alive just as much as
    there is nothing wrong with revieweing and honouring a deceased person.
    Lastly, we should learn to also stop the habit of bashing thing for the sake of it. The engagements
    online on the subject matter, to be blunt, look like criticism that is thinly-veiled tribalism and
    other “isms”. Most of the criticisms are without doubt thinly-veiled tribalism. This is not good
    for a multicultural, multiethnic and multireligious society.

    Francis Atwoli
    Secretary General, COTU (K)

    You might also like