President Uhuru Kenyatta accused of being unfair to women

President Uhuru Kenyatta did not meet the two-thirds gender rule when he reconstituted his Cabinet, two female deputy governors have said.

Kisumu Deputy Governor Ruth Odinga and her Taita Taveta counterpart Mary Ndinga Kibuka said the Cabinet should have at least seven women out of 20 members to meet the required constitutional threshold.

The two deputy governors, who spoke in Voi on Wednesday, said they would mobilise women to protest so that the Constitution is respected.

And National Gender and Equality Commission chairperson Winfred Lichuma told a lawyers' conference in Kwale Thursday that the President ought to have appointed seven women to his Cabinet.

"What President Kenyatta did was unfair. Why did he have to appoint five women instead of seven according to the two-thirds gender equality rule? Does he mean that women cannot perform?" she wondered.

Ms Lichuma said Uhuru must obey the Constitution. "If the Constitution recognises the two-thirds gender rule, why is the President not implementing that?" Lichuma asked.

And speaking during a rally for women in Voi town, Taita-Taveta County Thursday, Ms Odinga said: "It is very sad that the President has failed to uphold the Constitution by failing to address gender issues in his administration. The Head of State has resorted to breaking the Constitution by promoting tribalism in public appointment."

Zambia's former first lady Maureen Mwanawasa said women should fight for 50 per cent representation.