This is what most exhibits looked like ... with some of the attendants distracted talking to each other or on their phones.

I read that the elephant statue meant to highlight 'hands off our elephants' campaign never made it to the US

chida tupu

Posta was to transport the 12-foot-high stone to Washington DC through its Expedited Mail Service (EMS), according to Arts and Culture Principal Secretary Patrick Omutia.

“After they took over the project, a lot of complications arose about the size, the weight, and the possibility of getting an airline that was ready to take 13 tonnes,” he said, adding that “each airline that saw the object said ‘No, No, No’”.

After failing to get an airline, the PS said, the bid was re-tendered. And although they finally got a carrier that was ready to do the job, Mr Omutia said the conditions attached by its managers were too much for the government.

“One even said we must give guarantee that should the cargo damage the plane then we would be prepared to pay for it (plane). No one would give in to such an undertaking… .It’s not worth it,” he said.

How did they end up with goods from a client before first agreeing on freight costs?
Step 1. Check carrier availability.
Step 2. Possibility of shipping it and route.
Step 3. Cost.
Step 4. Agree on a price
Step 5. Collect goods from client.

Posta did the opposite;
1. Collected/Accepted goods from client.
2. Worked out a rough est. to appeal to client.
3. Began sourcing for rates from airlines not even sea.
4. Hit a dead end.
5. Went to sleep.

The sculptors ought to have had this thing ready 3 months before festival! shipping by sea. Logistical Planning by both parties here was minus zero.

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Posta, the PS said, called off the process after it turned out that the earliest the sculpture could arrive in DC was next Tuesday— two days after the end of the festival of culture, food, crafts, music and dance.
By what means again? Seafreight from mba to usa apprx.60 days

But people familiar with the deal told the Nation that national government officials keen to get kickbacks from the deal denied a firm that had won the tender in the first bid after getting one that could offer the services cheaply.
This can't be true..

However, the cheaper carrier turned out to be more expensive— it bowed out after realizing that none of its aircraft could take 13 tonnes plus packaging, which increased the weight to over 17 tonnes.

I read the news article na nikaanza kuumwa na kichwa. seriously, how did they not ask themselves all those questions before? weight? kwanza with US security measures, they should have planned waaaaay in advance. but that would be asking too much of some Kenyans!

We must get our money back. That stone belongs to the people of Kisii as much as it is part of Kenya. They can demand to have it back or they can ask to have a different buyer,” he said. “It’s not coming to Washington, DC, that puts food on the table. It’s what you made in Washington. That’s what these carvers are crying for.”

On his part, Mr Omutia said anybody interested in buying the sculpture should “come and inspect it at the National Museums of Kenya.”

But Mr Ong’esa on Saturday disowned the two market seekers.

NO EXHIBITION CENTREPIECE

“Who is selling it? I don’t have any agreement with anybody,” he said. “No one has involved me. I want it (sculpture) back without any problem or conditions.”

It is a tradition that every country featured at the Smithsonian festival develops a work of art that acts as the centrepiece of its exhibition.

China, the other country featured in the 48th edition of the event, for instance, had erected a flower plaque — a decorative bamboo structure designed by artist Danny Yung. The 34-foot-high and 112-foot-wide plaque is one of the largest structures in the festival’s history.

“China has left a mark on the US soil. What about Kenya?” said Samson Ong’esa, a stone carver and one of mzee Ong’esa’s sons.

The absence of the elephant carving rendered Kenya’s efforts to highlight its conservation efforts and draw global attention to the poaching menace a low-key event.

According to Mr Omutia, the campaign was carried out by word, video and photographs taken during the flagging off of the undelivered sculpture in Nairobi.

The Nation spotted several participants donning “Hands off Our Elephants” T-Shirts, but not many visitors bothered to know what it was all about.

usiumwe na kichwa!

so now where is this 'white elephant'? the HOOE campaign would have benefited if the carving had been delivered - pity.

On his part, Mr Omutia said anybody interested in buying the sculpture should “come and inspect it at the National Museums of Kenya.”