Kupi Shee from Lamu county has received presidential recognition as a hero during Mashujaa Day.
The 38-year-old father of three has been at the forefront in undertaking peace-building missions and humanitarian assistance to the marginalised minority Boni community in terror-prone Boni Forest in Lamu county.
Kupi, currently serving as the Lamu county director for Peace Building and Disaster Management, has been using helicopters provided by the Kenya Defence Forces to reach the community so they too get a chance to express their views.
Kupi has always tried to dodge the land mines and ambushes from al Shabaab by using air transport.
Born in the remote village of Kiunga on the Kenya-Somalia border, Kupi was inspired to unite Ras Kiamboni and Kiunga villages after witnessing civil war emanating from Somalia.
According to Kupi, the war had left Kiunga at the mercy of warlords.
It is through such an experience that Kupi developed a passion for peace-building and disaster risk management, a duty that he is still carrying out today.
This month, Kupi received an invitation from the National Heroes Council to attend the Mashujaa fete at Kericho Stadium after he was identified as among those to be feted as heroes and heroines by President William Ruto.
“We are pleased to inform you that you have been nominated as a hero. The purpose of this letter is, therefore, to request your office to release you from 17th to 21st October 2023, to enable you to travel to Kericho county for the celebrations,” stated the letter addressed to Kupi and which was signed by NHC’s chief executive officer Charles Wambia.
During Mashujaa Day, the head of state always recognises and honours the heroes and heroines for their selfless contributions towards the liberation of the country and other aspects they made towards the realisation of the development of the nation.
Contacted by the Star, Kupi expressed gratitude for such an honour and recognition as a hero.
“I am happy for both the Kenyan government under President William Ruto and the National Heroes Council for identifying and nominating me as Mashujaa Day hero,” he said.
Kupi has been fully committed to matters of peace-building and cohesion in Lamu.
He has fearlessly been venturing into the war zone areas, even those infested by al Shabaab in Basuba, Bodhei, Milimani, Mararani, Kiangwe, Mangai, Kiunga, Ishakani, and surrounding areas using military choppers to distribute food and incorporate community views during the budget-making process.
Kupi has also actively participated in youth empowerment programmes and spearheaded public view collection programmes along the Kenya-Somalia border, particularly in Ishakani village in 2016.
“Apart from food distribution and peace-building, I have also spearheaded public participation forums, project supervision, community empowerment and disaster risk management,” Kupi said.
He was born in Kiunga in 1985 and is the third-born in a family of four.
Kupi went to Kiunga Primary School and later joined Khamis High School in Mombasa.
He pursued a Degree in Public Administration and Management at Kampala University in Uganda and completed it in 2008.
He has a Master’s Degree in Strategic Management from Mount Kenya University
He is married and father of three.
