ALEYA KASSAM

FOR WANGARI MAATHAI AT UHURU PARK

For Wangari Maathai at Uhuru Park: In 1989, the Kenyan government wanted to destroy Uhuru Park to build a 60-storey business complex. Wangari Maathai led the protests that saved Uhuru Park so millions of people in Nairobi could enjoy a green space to gather, walk and breathe in. Thirty years later they thought we had forgotten. In 2019, the Kenyan government wanted to steal our breath again, this time to build an expressway to the airport. Wangari Maathai’s spirit was with us when we held protests to save Uhuru Park. On that day, I wrote this memory poem, as a warning.
The soil always remembers

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ABOUT THE ARTIST
Aleya Kassam is a Kenyan feminist, storyteller, writer, and performer. Her writing has been performed and published on multiple platforms and stages around the world, including Nairobi, Kigali and Stuttgart. As the ‘A’ in The LAM Sisterhood, she fills the world with stories - like the award-winning stage show and podcast series Brazen  - for African women to feel seen, heard, and beloved.