Saturday, May 15, 2010

Flashback - 4/2/10 - Campaigning on an airplane - by Tracy Guthrie, CE Adviser in Africa

I just met a man who is running for president of Kenya, Ledama Olekina. At first I thought "WOW! This is a big deal." But come to find out there are hundreds of people who campaign and run for president. From what I understand Kenya has seven tribes and in these tribes there are many sub groups. So, that means lots of people run for president.

The current President is Mwai Kibaki. Kenya gained its independance in 1963, so he is only the third President. His predecessors were Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel Moi. From what I can tell, there is not such a warm fuzzy feeling about Moi.

The man I met - Ledama Olekina, www.ledama.com, was smart to take advantage of such a captive audience. He was moving around the plane, shaking hands, and kissing babies. He was actually very nice and easy to chat with. He was curiout about my trip and said I should stop by his farm - Enkanasa Village Organic Farm to taste some of their fruit and vegetables. I am not sure we will have time, but I have his phone number. You never know, he might win the election and I will have a direct dial to the President of Kenya :)

2 comments:

Ann K said...

Im confused...were you on a plane today???

Tracy Guthrie said...

No, I am not sure how to back post so all the posts are chronological, not showing on the day I actually wrote it.