Fromlivingonthe
streetstoowning
hisownlawfirm,
Kennedydefiedthe
oddswhenheleft
Rwandainsearch
ofabetterlife.

A

LL HE had were the

clothes on his back and

a pair of sandals made

from an old rubber tyre.

Kennedy Gihana was

well aware that he was

hopelessly ill-equipped

to walk almost 6 000km

from Rwanda to South Africa – but he

had no other choice.

He’d been labelled a traitor and there

was a target on his back. To stay would

mean certain death.

But to go also posed many life-threat-

ening risks: on the remote back roads he

planned to walk, the odds of encounter-

ing bandits, police and wild animals

were high.

Yet it was a risk worth taking, he decid-

ed, for the chance at a better life.

And so, early one morning in 1998, he

started walking. He had no idea how he

was going to fend for himself but along

the way it soon became clear.

“I survived on Ubuntu,” Kennedy (47)

says as he chats to us in a hotel in Cen-

turion, near Pretoria. “It was African hu-

manity that helped me stay alive.”

Everywhere he went, help miracu-

lously materialised. “People in rural

areas, people in townships, people

in African villages – they don’t have

a problem. They’ll help and will

share whatever they’ve got.”

It took him six months but at last

he arrived in Johannesburg. Only to

discover that that’s where his real jour-

ney began. With hardly any money to

his name, he was forced to sleep on the

streets. Then came a series of poorly

paid jobs and an uphill battle with home

affairs to acquire refugee status.

But throughout it all, Kennedy refused

to give up. Having risked everything to

get here, he wasn’t going to allow red

tape or anyone to stand in his way.

More than two decades on, he’s a suc-

cessful human rights lawyer with his

own firm – living proof of what can be

achieved with a bit of guts and determi-

nation.

“If you want something in this world,

there’s nobody who can do it for you,”

says Kennedy, who’s now the subject of a

documentary, Rat Roads, on the History

channel (DStv, channel 186).

As he speaks, there’s a steely glint in his

spectacled eyes. “It’s all up to you,” he

adds. “If you’re suffering today, persevere

and it will be a channel or tunnel to a

better future.”

MY LONG WALK

TO FREEDOM

He trekked 6 000km from Rwanda to

Mzansi with only his matric certificate to

his name – now Kennedy Gihana is a lawyer

BY SHANAAZ PRINCE PICTURE: LUBABALO LESOLLE

18 | 15 AUGUST 2019 http://www.drum.co.za