Kenya says farewell to Nobel laureate Maathai

A state funeral was held on Saturday in Nairobi to bid farewell to environmentalist and Nobel peace laureate Wangari Maathai. Her coffin, draped in the Kenyan flag, was driven to Uhuru Park, where hundreds of mourners gathered to pay their respects.

Reuters/Noor Khamis

Maathai famously fought to save the park from plans to construct a 60-storey skyscraper during former president Daniel arap Moi’s regime.

Maathai’s three children and her granddaughter planted a tree in the park in her honour.

Her remains were carried in a coffin made of hyacinth fibre and bamboo frames, as Maathai had noted in her will that she opposed cutting down trees to make her coffin. A cremation was to take place later in the day.

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki said on Saturday that “the best way to honour her is to carry on the great work she started, especially in the fields of environmental conservation, social justice, human rights and democracy."

Maathai died on 25 September at the age of 71 after a battle with ovarian cancer.

In 2004, she became the first African woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.