Kenya at loss as her sons, daughters lift foreign flags

By JOE KIARIE

KENYA: As British rider Chris Froome eased to victory in the 100th edition of the prestigious Tour de France two weeks ago, some now all-too-familiar scenes were unfolding thousands of miles back in Kenya.

Dozens of local cyclists in replica yellow jerseys celebrated with a procession through the streets of Nairobi, in support of their Kenyan-born friend who won the world’s famous bike race. Regrettably, it was the Union Jack, and not the Kenyan flag, being waved across France to mark the victory.

Kenyan flags were equally in short supply at the Nairobi festivities as the Safari Simbaz club-mates wondered what would have happened had the Sky rider, who first represented Kenya as a professional cyclist, not decided to take the nationality of his British parents. Yet Froome, 28, joins a growing list of personalities with Kenyan roots who have left an expectant nation half-heartedly basking in their glory.

Wild guesses abound as to what fate would have held for these individuals had they retained, or taken up Kenyan citizenship. Most popular among them is, United States President Barack Obama, the son of a Kenyan economist, who has left many Kenyans clinging onto the American flag since becoming the world’s most powerful man back in 2008.

But it is in the sporting arena that Kenyans with close interest on their “lost compatriots” have harboured most regrets.

Earlier this month, news of Kenyan soccer prodigy Victor Wanyama, 21, signing for English Premier League (EPL) side Southampton was received with ecstasy, with the Press dubbing him the first East African to play in the league.

But unknown to many, two twins with a Kenyan mother have been the mainstay in English football in recent years.

Martin Waikwa Olsson, 25, signed for EPL side Norwich City this month, having played for Blackburn Rovers in the EPL and the Championship since 2006. His twin brother Marcus Munuhe Olsson has been a key player for Blackburn Rovers since joining the side in January last year.

The duo are sons of a Kenyan mother and a Swedish father, with their sister Jessica married to Dallas Mavericks all-star forward Dirk Nowitzki in a traditional ceremony in Kenya last year. While they cannot represent Kenya internationally, having both played for the Swedish national team, the twins qualify to be Kenyan citizens as the Constitution now allows dual citizenship.

Another near miss for Kenya was Curtis Osano, a Nakuru-born footballer, who moved to England aged nine, when his father joined the British army. While he did not make an EPL appearance for Reading FC, the defender played in the FA Cup before joining teams like Alderhsot Town, Luton Town and AFC Wimbledon.

World records

American football also has a Kenyan on the rise in its ranks: Daniel Adongo, a 23-year-old rugby star, was last week signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an outside linebacker. The six feet five inches tall, Adongo, recently played for the Southern Kings of Super 15 Rugby, described as “the highest level of pro rugby in the world”.

He is a student at the University of Pretoria Tuks. Another Kenyan rugby player, Wille Ambaka, heads to France to play in the XVs league.

Turning to athletics, one would labour to count the number of personalities who have dropped their Kenyan citizenship to compete for other countries. Most successful among them is middle and long distance runner Bernard Lagat, who became a naturalised citizen of the USA in 2004. Lagat went on to win six major gold medals for the US, two of them coming in the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan.

Lornah Kiplagat, who was born in Kabiemit in Rift Valley, also left her former compatriots with a bittersweet taste. She has won tens of races, including bagging gold medals in five major world events, since gaining Dutch citizenship in 2003.

It is perhaps former Danish 800 metres champion Wilson Kipketer, who set the ball rolling when it comes to changing citizenship among athletes. Kipketer traveled to Denmark in 1990 as a foreign exchange student studying electronic engineering but applied for Danish citizenship. He went on to dominate the 800-metre race for a decade. He still holds the indoor world records in the 100 and 800 metres races while his world record in 800 metres stood for 13 years before David Rudisha smashed it recently.

Then there are others like Saif Shaheed Shaheen (Stephen Cherono) who has regularly represented Qatar in the steeplechase. More than 40 athletes left the country in similar nationality change deals in the years after the Narc Government came to power, prompting then President Kibaki to speak out about the defections in 2005.

Entertainment

On the entertainment front, American film, stage and television actor Edi Mue Gathegi stands tall. Born in Nairobi’s Eastlands, Gathegi, 34, is best known for his character Dr Jeffrey Cole (aka “Big Love”) in the television series House, as Cheese in the 2007 film Gone Baby Gone and Darwin in X–Men: First Class.

The Physics, an American hip-hop trio based in Seattle, Washington, is equally popular. The group, which includes Monk Wordsmith (Njuguna Gichuru) and Thig Natural (Gathigi Gichuru), who are of Kenyan descent, has since 2007 released three full-length albums and several non-album singles.

In technology circles, the list of Kenya’s “lost daughters” would not be complete without Mwende Window Snyder. Snyder, the daughter of a Kenyan-born mother, Wayua Muasa, and an American father, is a security and privacy product manager at Apple Inc. She co-authored Threat Modelling, a standard manual on application of security.

Other famous people with Kenyan roots include Peter Hain, a British Labour Party politician and former Cabinet minister.

Hain was born in Kenya in 1950 and later shifted base to South Africa. He has been a UK Member of Parliament since 1991 and served in the cabinets of former Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

Roger Whittaker, an Anglo-Kenyan singer-songwriter and musician, is also Kenyan-born. His parents were originally from Staffordshire, England, but moved to a farm in Thika.

Richard Dawkins, the renowned English atheist, evolutionary biologist and author was born in Nairobi 72 years ago. He is famous for his criticism of creationism.