South Africa runs away with words made in Kenya

By Joe Kiarie

Kenya has for the last four decades enjoyed a unique global status as the homeland of celebrated words and phrases, some of which have become the face of tourism in the world.

The words, most of which have Swahili origin, have been embraced in all corners of the world. Mention words like hakuna matata, jambo, safari, nyama choma and harambee across the world and immediately Kenya comes to mind.

Nyama choma is among the attraction South Africa is touting ahead of the World Cup. [PHOTO:FILE/STANDARD]

However, the deep attachment the country has to this rich cultural heritage is staring at apparent dilution as the continent hosts the Fifa World Cup next year.

Catchy Phrases

While Kenya has extremely trimmed the use of these catchy phrases and words in favour of the Magical Kenya tag in marketing its tourism, South Africa, hosts of the world’s prime soccer tournament, is riding high on their eminence in the run-up to the event.

From accommodation amenities to television shows, local delicacies, tours and even the construction of railway systems, these words are now at the heart of World Cup preparations. South African pay television Supersport has since last month been airing a daily soccer magazine programme dubbed The Harambee Show.

Supersport enjoys millions of viewers across Africa.

South Africa also has two key hotels under the name hakuna matata brand. The hotels will provide accommodation during the World Cup.

Hakuna Matata Lodge is located in the hills of Muldersdrift, north of Johannesburg. " Hakuna matata means "no problem" and our intention is that your stay with us will be exactly that," the lodge notes on its website.

Hakuna Matata Homestay, a three-star hotel located in Cape Town, is described as a "true home away from home."

Private Lodges

There is also the Hakuna Matata Private Game Farm-Great Brak River, a game farm between George and Mossel Bay on the Garden Route of South Africa. In Durban, a fleet of modern, motor driven catamarans (multihulled boats) dubbed ‘ hakuna matata’ will be waiting to ferry tourists around the city’s coastline. "Hakuna Matata is also available for charters," a travel guide website says.

The famous phrase has further been adopted in railway construction. Two of the 400-tonne cranes used to dig up tunnels and build bridges along Gautrain, an 80km mass rapid transit railway system under construction in Gauteng Province, are nicknamed Hakuna and Matata. The Lesedi African Lodge and Cultural Village in Johannesburg has used nyama choma.

A play station dubbed Hakuna Matata, which is set to be launched.[PHOTO: COURTESY/STANDARD]

It is one of South Africa’s most exciting symbols of African culture and a tour of the facility concludes with lunch or dinner at its Nyama Choma restaurant. The 200-seater restaurant is decorated in African style and travel agencies tout it as one of the leading attractions for tourists during the World Cup, with nyama choma among the delicacies on offer.

Jambo Guest House in Cape Town, a five-star amenity located near the Green Point Stadium, will be among the venues for the World Cup.

Another word with Kenyan roots that will boldly stand out is safari. Hundreds of South African tour agencies are capitalising on it to promise unforgettable World Cup 2010 and soccer safaris. Prof Mauri Yambo, a Tourism and Sociology lecturer at the University of Nairobi, says Kenya has lacked creativity in marketing tourism and brand development. "Kenya is a big brand and we should be challenged when other countries take up our traditional slogans as we go for new ones. We should be consistent with slogans and make people, for instance, remember that in Kenya hakuna matata," Yambo notes. The lecturer expresses concern that much as people associate these phrases with Kenya, the World Cup has a predominantly youthful audience that might not know their origin and may end up mistaking them as South African’s.

"These are Kiswahili words and since we cannot copyright them, we can patent them to ensure the world continues to associate them with Kenya," Yambo told The Standard on Saturday.

But Kenya Tourism Board Chairman Jake Grooves-Cook defends the idea of taking up fresh slogans, saying there is need for diversification.

Magical Kenya

"Magical Kenya is a very strong word and we cannot use all the slogans at the same time. We will use them in a limited way as much as many people try to imitate us," the chairman states. He says hakuna matata was popularised by the Disney World film Lion King, making it hard to prevent other nations from taking it up. "It is hard to stop other people using Kiswahili words in this global village. But I agree we should promote our slogans. During the World Cup, we will make sure Kenya is given a high-pro-file promotion via a good image, and we are already launching the Jambo Campaign in preparation for this," he says.

Mr Mwangi Gakunga, the public relations officer at the Ministry of Tourism, says Kenya will be at a disadvantage when its traditional slogans are widely used elsewhere.

"KTB should no doubt do something about that. Now that the World Cup is coming to Africa, we should have one eye on it," he says.