The Africa Report — July-August 2017

The precise size of the diaspora is
unknown. To those compiling this in-
formation, the question of how many
Zimbabweans are entitled to vote is a
mystery more impenetrable than the
exact location of Cleopatra’s tomb.
As the ruling party declares its
high-level support, many suspect the
Zimbabwean African National Union-
Patriotic Front has been making

He is bullish on his Powerwall
2 technology, telling South Australia
he could fix its rolling blackout
problem with a large battery farm.
Musk tweeted in March: “Tesla will
get the system installed and working
100 days from contract signature
or it is free”, but the Australian
government didn’t find the money.
Even if South Africa’s Powerwall
factory doesn’t materialise, the huge
investments Musk is making in the
battery business have a direct impact
on the green energy industry. Although
the average cost for solar production
fell over 70% between 2010 and 2016

• now costing 5-6 cents per
  KwH according to the US Energy
  Information Administration – without
  better storage solar panels will always
  have an Achilles heel: nightfall.
  Derisking this by creating cheap
  power storage is unlocking billions
  into climate-friendly energy
  production. A boon for everyone,
  but especially for Africa, the continent
  most at risk from rising temperatures.
  Likewise, Musk’s work with Tesla
  has created a new dynamic in
  the electric car sector. Where before
  it was treated as a far-in-the-future
  concept by the big auto makers, now
  GM, Ford, Renault and others are all
  scrambling to bring out new versions
  to compete. Each non-green car puts
  out 4 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year,
  a key contributor to climate change.
  Musk is less sure about the
  potential success of another of
  his key projects: to create a ‘neural
  lace’ that helps the human brain
  interact with computers, in a bid
  to keep up with the huge strides
  being made in artificial intelligence.
  “We’ll be like a pet labrador if we’re
  lucky,” he said in 2015, when asked
  about the relationship between
  man and the robots of the future.
  Nicholas Norbrook

L

ucy Gichuhi was born near

the slopes of Mount Kenya.

She grew up with her eight

siblings, who walked barefoot

to school together. But she studied

hard and became a lawyer before

immigrating to Australia with

her young family nearly two

decades ago. In April, she became

Australia’s newest senator, and the

country’s first African to hold office.

Gichuhi is an independent who

is seen as a rising star. She has won

praise from all parties for her harsh

views of the country’s welfare state

and immigration policies. In her

first speech to the Senate she spoke

of her humble beginnings in Kenya:

“With no electricity, we relied on

the light of a paraffin lantern to

do our homework. Sometimes, when

my parents could not afford to

buy paraffin, we used the light from

the fireplace to do our homework,”

she told a session of the country’s

76 senators. For her, and based

on her experience as a lawyer,

to migrate and gain citizenship

in a host country “is not a right;

it is a privilege”.

What she represents, as an

immigrant who preaches the value

of hard work and shuns government

handouts, is welcomed by many

in a country struggling to deal with

an influx of economic migrants.

“I remember the first time we found

welfare money in our bank account,

shortly after our arrival in Australia,”

she told the Senate. “We were

terrified because we were not used

to receiving money from strangers

for nothing. [...] I said to my

husband, ‘We will have to return it.’”

Earlier this year, an Australian

High Court ruled in Gichuhi’s favour

after an opposition party challenged

her eligibility to serve in Parliament

based on dual citizenship concerns.

Gichuhi automatically lost

her Kenyan citizenship when

she became an Australian citizen

in 2001 (the Kenya law has changed

since), and won’t be able to vote

in the upcoming Kenyan elections,

which are open to its diaspora

for the first time.

She often speaks of her love for

her adopted country: “The diversity

of colour, race, cultural

backgrounds and religion go

towards making up what we believe

it is to be Australian,” she says.

Gichuhi studied at the University

of Nairobi, University of South

Australia and University of Adelaide.

Before joining Australia’s upper

house as a senator for South

Australia, she worked at Ernst

& Young, Postbank, ActionAid

and Madison Insurance.

Mark Anderson

LUCY GICHUHIKenya/Australia, politician

Reaching high office

Down Under

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DIASPORA DYNAMO |FRONTLINE 27