Africa Famous People

Wangari Maathai
Her name is Prof. Wangari Maathai and she is a Kenya Environmentalist and Human Rights Activist. Wangari Maathai is the first African woman to receive the very prestigious Nobel Peace Prize of 2004. Known both as pioneering academic and environmental campaigner, Maathai has fought tirelessly, even against oppressive regime, to ensure a sustainable environment and better quality for women and the citizen of Kenya. "I would like to call on young people, in particular, to take inspiration from this prize. Despite all the constraints that they face, there is hope in the future in serving the common good. What my experiences have taught me is that service to others has its own special rewards.

Jomo Kenyatta
Jomo Kenyatta was born at Ng'enda in the Gatundu Division of Kiambu in the year 1889. His brilliance gave strength and aspiration to people beyond the boundaries of Kenya, indeed beyond the shores of Africa. Just as one light shines in total darkness and provides a rallying point, so did Kenyatta become the focus of the freedom fight for Kenya over half a century to dispel the darkness and injustice of colonialism. On December 12, 1964, Kenya became a Republic within the Commonwealth, with Kenyatta, as the President. And with that he also became one of the most famous people from Kenya.

Nelson Mandela:
Born on July 18, 1918, in the small village of Mvezo, Nelson Mandela was the first member of his family to attend school. One of his schoolteachers gave him the name, Nelson. The political views and the values of Nelson Mandela were influenced by the principles and philosophy of life of Mahatma Gandhi. He was an anti-apartheid activist and led the African National Congress. He was convicted for crimes for which he had to spend 27 long years in imprisonment. He made a valuable contribution to the abolition of apartheid. He was the President of South Africa, the first Black to be elected to this post. He is the proud winner of more than a hundred awards including the Nobel Prize for Peace.

John Michael Coetzee
An author and academic from South Africa, a novelist and literary critic as well as a translator, author of “Waiting for the Barbarians” and “Life and Times of Michael K,” Coetzee was awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize in Literature. The Swedish Academy in Stockholm described his books as being “characterized by their well-crafted composition, pregnant dialogue and analytical brilliance. But at the same time he is a scrupulous doubter, ruthless in his criticism of the cruel rationalism and cosmetic morality of western civilization.”