The message of James Kagambi, 62, the first Kenyan to climb Everest
Kenyan mountaineer James Kagambi nicknamed 'KG' (C), 62, is greeted upon his arrival as the first Kenyan to summit Mount Everest, the world's highest peak at 8,849 metres, at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya, on May 23, 2022. AFP - YASUYOSHI CHIBA
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
A Kenyan on top of the world.
His name is James Kagambi, nickname "KG".
He is 62 years old.
And he is now the first Kenyan to have climbed Everest, in the first team composed entirely of black climbers to successfully complete such an expedition.
He was welcomed as a hero on Monday May 23 on his return to his country.
James Kagambi pleads to democratize mountaineering and hopes that his achievement will inspire others.
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"
That's what drove me to take part in this expedition: to encourage people of color to dare to go mountaineering
," said James Kagambi.
“
More than 4,000 people have already climbed Everest and of these, less than 10 were black before we climbed...Eight, I believe...We climbed to six...so that's 14 black people now .
So I wanted to show people that it's possible
,” he says.
“
There are things you don't do, not because you can't, but because you don't even know it's an option.
I wanted to demonstrate that it is not reserved only for certain categories of populations
, ”adds James Kagambi.
"
And I'm not only talking to people of color, but also people of modest origins.
It's a plea for diversity
,” he concludes.
James Kagambi: “I wanted to demonstrate that it is not reserved only for certain categories of populations”
Florence Morice
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A post shared by James Kagambi (@kg_mountain_exp)
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