Once again this year, as witnesses and informants of the collaboration and relations between the Kenyan and Italian peoples in the African country that has hosted us for so many years and whose events we recount, often shared, we have had meetings, cultural and institutional exchanges with Kenyans who have distinguished themselves for their approach to Italy, carried out reports or interviews, and written articles on their activities.
Without rankings or particular titles, we have selected ten figures representative of the relationship between the two nations and cultures, through as many personalities. This is the review of the portal of Italians in Kenya.

SATUBO WOMEN

Satubo is the acronym of three Kenyan tribes: Samburu, Turkana and Borana.
Three ethnic groups that for centuries have been semi-nomadic, and in part still are, but occupy fairly limited areas, to devote themselves to pastoralism or seasonal agriculture, when drought or floods allow them to do so.
We are talking about arid, impoverished areas between the Laikipia plateau, where the savannah takes almost everything and dedicates it to wild animals and safari tourism, and where since the mid-19th century, even before the arrival of Europeans, conflicts over land and livestock brought destruction and death.
From the city of Isiolo to the Turkana desert, today there are three warring tribes left, who in past years, especially during the post-election violence of 2008, have killed each other, burnt entire villages, pillaged and raped. But these things are done by men. They are the ones who go to war, while women continue to toil in the fields, take the animals to pasture, look after the children.
Women are Africa with a capital A and we could fill entire books with their stories, their daily miracles. One of these is represented by the Samburu, Turkana and Borana women. While their husbands were waging war against each other, they got together in a cooperative to teach everyone, especially their children (but also their husbands themselves, if there is still hope of changing them...) that peace always brings more benefits than war. They have different habits and traditions, they dress and pray differently. The Samburu are a ‘rib’ of the Maasai, the Turkana are Nilotic more like Nubians, the Borana are Nilotic of Somali origin, Muslim. Thanks to the ‘Ethical Fashion’ initiative, which we have talked about here, the Satubo Women not only bring home their earnings, but also set an example to many other women, not only from this land but from all over Kenya. Their creativity, their desire to change the mentality of the most problematic areas of Kenya has also attracted Italian designers and companies that will buy their products.
Long live the Satubos!

HILLARY KIPKOSGEY

In the year in which the Italian and Kenyan governments decided to re-launch the Luigi Broglio space centre in Malindi, thanks also to the contributions of the Mattei Plan and the possibility of opening up collaborations in the aerospace sector to private individuals, the Kenya Space Agency has joined our space agency ASI and the Italian government in thinking about the future of its students, and bring them closer to a sector in which Africa has great potential, to create professionalism in an expanding sector, to conduct important challenges, through observation of the Earth from above, to combat climate change and to monitor agriculture, livestock and other areas that are fundamental for Sub-Saharan Africa. In this endeavour, certainly for relations between Kenya and Italy, the figure of a capable and attuned technician like the Director General of the Kenya Space Agency, Hillary Kipkosgey, has emerged.

MACKINLAY MUTSEMBI

For some years now, Kenya's leading jazz trumpeter, Mackinlay Mutsembi, has not only been increasingly well known and appreciated in his homeland, but he is also a regular contributor to ‘higher’ music events involving Italian artists. Whenever an Italian jazz musician comes to Kenya, Mackinlay is active and proactive for collaborations and concerts that bring him closer to the musical environment in Nairobi and also on the coast. This year, his collaborations have included saxophonist Gianfranco Menzella, who boasts collaborations and albums with the elite of Italian, European and American jazz, and, more recently, that with vibraphonist Olmò Chittò, who has enabled Mackinlay to introduce Kenyans to this instrument that was hitherto practically unknown to them. In addition to this, the Kenyan trumpeter and producer organises increasingly high-level events and collaborations with jazz musicians from all over the world, raising the quality and awareness of the Kenyan jazz scene.

SAMUEL MUNGUTI

Samuel is an ‘enlightened’ farmer, and it is no coincidence that this year he is among the winners of the ‘Gian Marco Moratti Award’, the prize conceived by the E4Impact Foundation to highlight and help those companies capable of offering an effective entrepreneurial response to a situation that negatively affects the African community, and dedicated in particular to the best business solutions aimed at bridging one or more gaps - social, cultural, economic, environmental.

Munguti, is the creator and president of Shamba Pride, a Kenyan reality in Makueni County that operates in the agribusiness sector. Shamba Pride distributes seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, feed and equipment for agriculture and animal husbandry. Samuel also devised a digital platform, ‘DigiShop Market’, through which farmers can receive information and connect with other agricultural service providers in the community, with the aim of ensuring increased production and mitigating the effects of climate change. Thanks to this insight, in just a few years Samuel has reached 15 thousand farmers and more than 400 shops offer its solutions. We talked about it here: https://malindikenya.net/en/articles/words/stories/samuel--pride-talent-and-technology-in-the-kenyan-shamba.html

EMMANUEL WANYONYI

Sport, and in particular athletics and middle-distance running, have for years been one of Kenya's excellences. This is due to the Kenyans' innate talent for running, to those who were born and trained on the high plateaus of the Rift Valley, but also to Italian coaches who have long dedicated their professionalism to developing many athletes with exceptional qualities. Among them is Claudio Berardelli from Brescia, who has worked with many local talents, the latest of which is 20-year-old Emmanuel Wanyonyi, one of the country's fastest rising middle-distance runners. Specialising in the 800 metres, Wanyonyi first broke the world record in the road mile in Germany this year, and then triumphed in his speciality at the Paris Olympics. For this he was also honoured by the Italian Embassy, together with Berardelli, on International Sports Day.

DENNIS OMBACHI

Dennis Ombachi, known as ‘The Roaming Chef’, is a former Kenya national 7-a-side rugby player turned culinary artist and digital content creator. A true social star, he is one of the most followed not only in Kenya but in the whole of Africa. His focus on cooking and eating well and healthy has led him several times to participate in initiatives organised by institutions or Italian food and wine associations. Together with his new activity, Dennis fights for the emancipation of young people, against the evils that afflict so many Kenyans in the digital age and the age of change, such as depression and bipolarity, while also fighting for human rights.

(Dennis Ombachi receives the diploma of italian cooking masterclass from the ambassador fo Italy to Kenya, Roberto Natali)

WAKIO MZENGE

Acknowledged as one of Kenya's most talented and capable actresses, with many appearances in television series and film productions, Wakio loves theatre and has also discovered herself to be an excellent director, bringing to the Kenya National Theatre some socially, as well as artistically, impactful female plays and monologues, such as recently the acclaimed play ‘Elements’. Her relationship with Italy was born together with her passion for Dante Alighieri and the Divine Comedy, but also having earned the opportunity to perform in Rome, with our cooperation.
This year, on the occasion of Italian Language Week, she took the stage at the National Theatre in Nairobi with Freddie del Curatolo, with the show ‘Found in Translation’, which was a great success, demonstrating not only her professionalism but also her likability, resulting in a performance that once again showed the possibilities of expressing the union and artistic understanding between Italy and Kenya.

ELIZABETH WATHUTI
Elizabeth Wathuti è un'attivista per la conservazione ambientale e il clima. È la fondatrice della Green Generation Initiative e nonostante la giovane età il suo lavoro prosegue idealmente quello della compianta premio Nobel Wangari Maathai. Elizabeth nel settembre 2023 ha vinto il premio internazionale “Time100 Impact Award” per l’ambiente, e successivamente è stata la portavoce del Kenya alla Cop26 per l’ambiente di Glasgow. Elizabeth ha collaborato con la cooperazione italiana per le iniziative per la parità di genere, tenendo un applauditissimo discorso sull’importanza delle donne nella tutela dell’ambiente, oltre a proseguire nella sua missione di piantare alberi ed insegnare ai giovani a prendersi cura degli spazi pubblici, ed interagire con la Natura, a partire dalle scuole.

 

ANTHONY WANJOHI
Anthony Maina Wanjohi è uno degli artisti emergenti del Kenya. La sua pittura si è evoluta dal classicismo degli anni dell’adolescenza, quando studiava Leonardo da Vinci e Botticelli, per essere più vicina alla gente del suo Paese, e particolarmente a quella vita precaria di strada che lui stesso ha dovuto fare prima di emergere, per la necessità di sopravvivere. Finalmente, grazie alla tecnica di dipingere su lastre di ferro e riportare immagini e scatti del quotidiano su forme sagomate di grande realismo, si è imposto all’attenzione di critici e pubblico, arrivando ad esporre insieme a due mostri sacri dell’arte figurativa keniana come Michael Soi e Thom Ogonga nella mostra allegorico-sociale “Sex & the city” e riuscire ad esaudire uno dei suoi sogni di ragazzo, quello di visitare la Biennale di Venezia e poter soggiornare a Firenze. L’amore per la bellezza e l’arte dell’Italia di Wanjohi non si fermerà qui.

 

JOSEPH NYABABWE

Parliamo di un giovane che conosciamo fin da quando aveva 9 anni e, orfano di padre, cercava di eccellere a scuola per poter uscire dal circolo chiuso e drammatico della povertà delle periferie disagiate di Malindi.
Nell’accademia di calcio italiana in Kenya che Freddie del Curatolo ha fondato nel 2009 è diventato subito capitano, essendo il più bravo a scuola, un esempio per tanti altri ragazzini come lui nella scuola che con il pungolo dello sport ha tolto decine di ragazzi dalle tentazioni della strada. Grazie all’aiuto di Malindikenya.net e dei suoi lettori, di Karibuni Odv e diverse organizzazioni, associazioni di tifosi italiani e privati, Joseph ha continuato a studiare con sempre più impegno, anche se un infortunio lo ha privato della passione per il calcio. Dopo essersi laureato, quest’anno è diventato il manager dell’accademia di calcio stessa, la cui squadra Under 20 è stata promossa nel campionato di contea. Ma lui ha fatto di più: ha motivato i più piccoli a studiare, facendoli riavvicinare ai valori della nostra scuola calcio, creando un modello da seguire per tanti giovani a rischio e occupandosi in prima persona di ogni aspetto della Real Malindi. Un orgoglio grandissimo.