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The Standard e-Paper
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For once, let's remember the true heroes of freedom

When Barack Obama became the 44th US President and he came to Kenya, the one person who fascinated me the most did not merit mention in the media. We never got to know his name and he didn't get to grip Obama's hand in greeting. When Air Force One was rolling down the tarmac at JKIA, snipers perched on trees and rooftops, every eye locked on the door to catch the son of the soil stepping down in Kenyan soil, no one knew of his existence.

But the moment rolled down to a stop, this figure of anonymity stepped forward and anchored Obama's aircraft to a halt by placing pieces of wood or plastic or whatever it was behind the wheels of the massive plane. The cameras caught him for a fleeting second and moved on to other things.

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