Kenya’s record-breaking environmentalist, Truphena Muthoni, was on Monday awarded a Head of State Commendation (HSC) medal, along with other prizes, by President William Ruto at State House Nairobi.
Truphena currently holds the world record for the longest tree-hugging marathon at 48 hours, while her latest attempt of 72 hours is still awaiting ratification by Guinness World Records.
While presenting the HSC award, President Ruto announced that Truphena will take a leading role in the government’s tree-planting initiative.
“In recognition of her courage, fortitude, and exemplary leadership, I have appointed her as an Ambassador of the 15 Billion Tree Planting Campaign, a signature national initiative dedicated to securing Kenya’s environmental future,” he said.
The president also revealed that the Kenya Wildlife Service and the Kenya Tourism Board will provide Truphena and her team with a fully sponsored holiday experience.
Although Truphena missed the recent global environment conference, COP30, held in Belém, Brazil, President Ruto confirmed that the government will support a new trip to the South American nation.
“The Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry will support the realisation of her dream to visit Brazil, broadening her exposure to global conservation initiatives and environmental leadership,” he added.
In an earlier interview with Nation, Truphena said that her activism is driven by a desire to inspire people to reconnect with nature.
“I want to inspire people to fall in love with nature and treat it with care. Conservation begins with love. Nowadays, there are many tree-planting initiatives, but people often replace indigenous forests with saplings, believing that is mitigation, yet it is not. We must first protect what we already have,” she said.
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