Saturday October 19 2019
Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed addresses his country’s diaspora in Washington, US on July 28, 2018. The PM was on October 11, 2019 awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to resolve his country’s conflict with Eritrea. PHOTO | REUTERS
In Summary
- Ethiopians eat from one plate and occasionally, scoop food to feed each other. This is called ‘Gursha.’ It is done in the spirit of sharing and shows the importance of not eating alone. Abiy needs ‘Gursha’
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By ALICE WAIRIMU NDERITU
It was quite the week for Africa with Kenyan marathoner Eliud Kipchoge making history by completing a 42-kilometre marathon in 1:59:40 in Vienna, Austria, becoming the first recorded human being to run the distance in under two hours
In no less a feat, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed had in the same week been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for among others, his democratic reforms and peacemaking efforts with Eritrea.
Earlier on February 14, this year, in an opinion published here, I had written that PM Abiy deserved a Nobel.
Kenyans will, without prompting, set aside ethnic differences in times of great tragedy like the Westgate terror attack or to celebrate one of their own as happened with Lupita Nyong’o winning the Oscar or President Barack Obama’s 2015 homecoming.
Speaking in Nairobi, Obama said; “Old ethnic divisions can still be stirred up—a politics that is based solely on ethnicity is a politics that’s doomed to tear a country apart… whatever the challenge you will be stronger if you face it not as christians or muslims, Maasai, Kikuyu, Luo or any other — but as Kenyans.”
Kipchoge’s win prompted an outpouring of inspiring messages across a seemingly unified Kenya building on his mantra of “no human is limited” even as pessimists asked, “how long will it take Kenyans, after the Kipchoge-inspired unity to resume divisive politics?”