How woman's loss took Kenya to the skies

An airplane landing from the side of Uhuru Gardens in Langata in Nairobi on July 3, 2025. [Kanyiri Wahito, Standard]

The story of Wilson Airport does not begin with a government blueprint or international contract. It begins with grief-and with a woman who refused to be grounded.

Florence Kerr Wilson was 49 when her husband, Major William Herbert Wilson, died in 1928. The couple had moved to Kenya after World War I, settling into the rhythms of colonial life. His death left her not broken, but determined to change Nairobi-then described by white settlers as a place of cool waters.