Elizabeth Marami, Kenya’s first female marine pilot, wows Uhuru with powerful speech

After scoring A- in her KCSE exams, Elizabeth Marami was offered a place at the University of Nairobi to study law but she deferred to pursue Nautical Technology in Egypt.

While giving a speech during the commissioning of Bandari Maritime Academy, Marami revealed that she graduated with First Class Honours from the Arab Maritime Academy in 2015 and from then on blessings have been coming her way.

“In November 2018, the Mediterranean Shipping Company accorded me an opportunity what I don't think anyone would have ever accorded me. They took me to France where I saw the construction of a ship from scratch, in my tenure in this career, I had never seen a ship being built in a shipyard," she said.


Adding: "They (Mediterranean Shipping Company) did not look at my gender, they did not look at my nationality, they did not look at my skin colour, they just picked me because I passed the interview and I had the papers.”

Marami added that she has had the chance to travel across some of the most renowned cities around the world.

She thanked President Uhuru Kenyatta for opening the Bandari Maritime Academy saying it would go a long way in changing the lives of the students.


The President said the new institution will be key in equipping young Kenyans with the requisite skills and knowhow to enable them compete favourably for employment opportunities in the vast blue economy sector.

“The Academy is expected to become a top supplier of world class seafarers for shipping lines all over the world,” the President said.

As a pointer to its strategic importance to the country's economy, Bandari Maritime Academy will partner with the Kenya Utalii College, the Kisumu Maritime Centre and also establish twinning arrangements with the Mediterrranean Shipping Company (MSC) Training Academy based in Naples, Italy.

“I am confident that the enhanced training will bring out the best in our talented young people,” said President Kenyatta.