South Africa’s High Commissioner to Kenya, Mninwa Johannes Mahlangu, on Friday led a delegation from South Africa on a tour of Embu County to establish cultural and trade ties.
The delegation from Dlamini Community of the Abantu origin from South Africa and Eswatini came to Embu to retrace their roots they believe to be from the county.
The team first paid a courtesy call on County Commissioner Jack Obuo, where they discussed ways of exploring new opportunities for the deepening of cooperation between the SA team and Embu before embarking on their mission.
High Commissioner Mahlangu said SA and Embu share strong historical and cultural ties and that the team came to reconnect with their ‘place of origin.’
The team later met with elders from Embu in a fact-finding mission and then toured several key historical sites of importance to their mission.
“They will be very happy to do the discovery and report back to the larger community of Swazi and also make arrangements to pay regular visits to the area where their forefathers came from,” he said.
Representative of the community, Reuben Dlamini, said the mission was an important step towards fostering a lasting relationship and connection with the people of Embu.
“A people that does not understand where they came from and where they are will definitely fail to make progress, and that is why we are here to connect with our roots,” he said.
At the national level, the High Commissioner said Kenya shares a bond of friendship with South Africa anchored on mutual respect and common values.
“South Africa and Kenya have a very cordial relationship, and our bilateral relationship is at a very high level, and we are trying to promote and deepen that relationship further,” he said.
He said they are keen on establishing trade ties with the country owing to its rich agricultural and mineral potential.
He reported that President William Ruto and President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa had already formed a Ministerial Committee from both sides to establish a trade partnership.
Mahlangu said South Africa has a big market, and the team will be tasked with determining which items can be exported, for instance, tea and coffee.
“Kenya is very rich in tea but has not been exporting it to South Africa, and we need to start doing it,” he said.
Embu County Commissioner Jack Obuo said the discovery tour was very noble and fits in very well with the vision of President William Ruto of promoting a visa-free policy for visitors from African countries.
By Samuel Waititu
