Abstract
The quality of political leadership in any country is one of the determinants contributing to or undermining the country’s environmental sustainability. In Africa, climate-induced conditions compromise states’ sustainability. Whereas Kenya is well-known for its efforts to enhance sustainability, less is known of the role of Kenya’s political leadership in these efforts. Therefore, this contribution focuses specifically on a neglected area in leadership studies on Africa, namely, the role of the First Lady (i.e., the wife of the President). Kenya’s First Lady, Margaret Gakuo Kenyatta’s role in environmental sustainability in Kenya is unprecedented and instructive vis-à-vis sustainability in the country and on the continent.
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Notes
- 1.
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa), African regional report on the Sustainable Development Goals. Summary (Addis Ababa: ENECA, 2015); 15.
- 2.
WildlifeDirect , A guide to the Wildlife Act of Kenya (WCMA 2013) (Nairobi: Government of Kenya, 2015); 6.
- 3.
“What next after the burning of the ivory,” Kenya Insights, May 3, 2016.
- 4.
“First Lady launches program to tackle human-wildlife conflict,” Capital News, May 18, 2016.
- 5.
UNECA, African regional report on the Sustainable Development Goals. Summary, 10.
- 6.
Keith Somerville, Ivory. Power and poaching in Africa (London: C. Hurst & Co. Ltd, 2016); 99–134.
- 7.
“What next after the burning of the ivory,” Kenya Insights, May 3, 2016.
- 8.
TRAFFIC, Conservation stakeholders hammer out priority actions to fight wildlife crime in Kenya, 2015.
- 9.
“Hands off our elephants,” November 1, 2013; “Kenyans rally to save their wildlife,” Mail & Guardian, October 18, 2013.
- 10.
Jo-Ansie van Wyk , “First Ladies in African Politics: Tinker, Tailor, Trickster, Trophy or Trump card?” Paper presented at an international, interdisciplinary conference on Accountable Leadership and Sustainability in Africa: Religion, Democracy and Civil Society celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the University of South Africa’s (Unisa) Research Institute for Theology and Religion, Unisa, Pretoria, South Africa, April 21–24, 2015.
- 11.
“Kenya’s First Lady takes the helm in the war on poachers,” The Guardian, June 27, 2014.
- 12.
UNEP, About Kenya, 2017.
- 13.
Margaret Kenyatta, Speech by her Excellency, First Lady Margaret Kenyatta, during the official opening of the International Conference on Engaging Local Communities in Wildlife Conservation in Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya, May 18, 2016.
- 14.
African Union Commission, African Gender Scorecard, 2015.
- 15.
“First Lady Margaret launches campaign to eradicate poaching and save jumbos,” The Star, June 6, 2016.
- 16.
Ibid.
- 17.
Save the Elephants, First Lady: Elephants are about our lives, economy, security, May 11, 2016.
- 18.
Margaret Kenyatta, Speech by her Excellency, First Lady Margaret Kenyatta, during the official opening of the International Conference on Engaging Local Communities in Wildlife Conservation in Kenya.
- 19.
“First Lady launches program to tackle human-wildlife conflict,” Capital News, May 18, 2016.
- 20.
WildlifeDirect, Focus on illegal ivory trade in the USA, October 1, 2016; “First Lady launches program to tackle human-wildlife conflict,” Capital News, May 18, 2016.
- 21.
Margaret Kenyatta, Speech by the First Lady during Wangari Maathai Memorial Gala Dinner, Nairobi National Museum, March 11, 2016.
- 22.
Margaret Kenyatta, Statement by the First Lady of Kenya, H.E. Margaret Kenyatta on protecting elephant ivory and rhino horns, April 30, 2016; Save the Elephants, First Lady: Elephants are about our lives, economy, security, May 11, 2016.
- 23.
“Kenya’s First Lady takes the helm in the war on poachers,” The Guardian, June 27, 2014.
- 24.
Margaret Kenyatta, Speech by her Excellency, First Lady Margaret Kenyatta, during the official opening of the International Conference on Engaging Local Communities in Wildlife Conservation in Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya, May 18, 2016.
- 25.
“What next after the burning of the ivory,” Kenya Insights, May 3, 2016.
- 26.
Ibid.
- 27.
WildlifeDirect , First Lady Margaret Kenyatta spearheads national campaign to save elephants, June 19, 2003.
- 28.
“First Lady Margaret Kenyatta, Somali counterpart Qamar Omar Ali, plant trees to mark Environment Day,” Jamhuri Magazine, June 5, 2013; Margaret Kenyatta, Statement From the First Lady of Kenya, H.E. Margaret Kenyatta On Protecting Elephant Ivory and Rhino Horns. Press release, April 30, 2016.
- 29.
“Kenya’s First Lady takes the helm in the war on poachers,” The Guardian, June 27, 2014.
- 30.
Msafiri, Hands off our elephants, November 1, 2013.
- 31.
Margaret Kenyatta, “Message of the First Lady of the Republic of Kenya, in WildlifeDirect,” A guide to the Wildlife Act of Kenya (WCMA 2013) (Nairobi: Government of Kenya); 4.
- 32.
Margaret Kenyatta, Speech by her Excellency, First Lady Margaret Kenyatta, during the official opening of the International Conference on Engaging Local Communities in Wildlife Conservation in Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya, May 18, 2016.
- 33.
World Bank, Engaging communities in wildlife conservation, June 12, 2016.
- 34.
“First Lady Margaret launches campaign to eradicate poaching and save jumbos,” The Star, June 6, 2016.
- 35.
“Kenya’s First Lady takes the helm in the war on poachers,” The Guardian, June 27, 2014.
- 36.
“Kenyans rally to save their wildlife,” Mail & Guardian, October 18, 2013.
- 37.
Save the Elephants, First Lady: Elephants are about our lives, economy, security, May 11, 2016.
- 38.
TRAFFIC, Kenya, 2017; UNODC (United Nations Office on Drug and Crime), World wildlife crime report. Trafficking in protected species, 2016.
- 39.
“What next after the burning of the ivory,” Kenya Insights, May 3, 2016.
- 40.
Ibid.
Further Reading
Carmody, Padraig. 2011. The New Scramble for Africa. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Maathai, Wangari. 2010. Replenishing the Earth: Spiritual Values for Healing Ourselves and Our World. New York: Doubleday.
Somerville, Keith. 2016. Ivory. Power and Poaching in Africa. London: C. Hurst & Co. Ltd.
Southall, Roger, and Henning Melber, eds. 2009. The New Scramble for Africa? Imperialism, Investment and Development. Scottsville: University of KwaZulu-Natal Press.
Swart, Gerrie., Jo-Ansie van Wyk, and Maryke Botha. 2014. The Oxford Handbook of Political Leadership. Ed. R.A.W. Rhodes and Paul ’t Hart, 659–669. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Maathai, Wangari. 2004. The Green Belt Movement: Sharing the Approach and the Experience. New York: Lantern Books.
UNECA (United Nations Economic Commission for Africa). 2015. African Regional Report on the Sustainable Development Goals. Addis Ababa: ENECA.
UNODC (United Nations Office on Drug and Crime). 2016. World Wildlife Crime Report. Trafficking in Protected Species. [pdf] New York: UNODC. Available at: https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/wildlife/World_Wildlife_Crime_Report_2016_final.pdf. Accessed 3 Apr 2017.
van Wyk, Jo-Ansie. 2017. First Ladies in Southern Africa: Trophies or Trailblazers. Politikon 44 (1): 157–172.
WildlifeDirect. A Guide to the Wildlife Act of Kenya (WCMA 2013). [pdf] Available at: http://kwcakenya.com/resources/Wildlife_Act_Summary_WildlifeDirect.pdf. Accessed 29 Mar 2017.
World Bank. Engaging Communities in Wildlife Conservation, June 12, 2016. Available at: http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2016/07/12/engaging-communities-in-wildlife-conservation. Accessed 17 Mar 2017.
References
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van Wyk, JA. (2018). Political Leadership and Sustainability in Africa: Margaret Kenyatta. In: Brinkmann, R., Garren, S. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Sustainability. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71389-2_18
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