Kenyan independence hero Tom Mboya first met American stars Harry Belafonte, Jackie Robinson, and Sidney Poitier when he was coordinating an airlift of 81 Kenyan students to the United States. That was the beginning of a warm friendship between Belafonte and Mboya. Belafonte made his first visit to Kenya in 1963, in time for Kenya’s Uhuru celebrations, along with the great South African singer Miriam Makeba. “We will remember him as a hero and true friend of South Africa that we must celebrate during our National Orders ceremony and for many years to come.”Banning Eyre, lead producer of the Peabody Award-winning public radio program Afropop Worldwide, also shared a memory. In 2001, he visited South Africa to support the campaign against HIV and AIDS.

Source: Ethiopian News May 03, 2023 22:34 UTC