Crisis looms as women avoid key seats

By Job Weru

Kenya risks plunging into a constitutional crisis if it does not attain the one-third gender rule as stipulated in the supreme law.

In the Mt Kenya region, there are fears that this threshold might not be met due to evidence that women are avoiding various political seats.

A survey by The County Weekly has revealed that most women are vying for the Women Representative seat, with only a handful contesting the MP’s, senatorial and other county positions.

No woman has declared interest in the gubernatorial position.

Iron lady

The few exceptions are people like Narc Kenya presidential aspirant Martha Karua, who is gunning for the presidency.

Ms Karua’s strictness and boldness in facing vices perpetrated by leaders has seen her nicknamed the ‘Iron Lady’.

She was elected to Parliament for the first time in 1992 on a Democratic Party (DP) ticket, and has since then been a favourite for Gichugu people whom she represents in Parliament.

Priscillah Nyokabi, a lawyer who is seeking the Nyeri County Women Representative position, attributes the disinterest to various factors, among them lack of role models and finances.

She says if aspirants seeking gubernatorial and presidential votes nominated women as running mates, they could boost the morale of potential women leaders to contest.

“They will see that their counterparts can also do well in campaigns and leadership and this might prompt women to contest, and even men and youth to give them the required support,” says Ms Nyokabi.

The headache

“Women are also prone to other physical challenges including ability to traverse vast regions like their male counterparts, withstand criticism, among others.”

Ms Nyokabi, who is the former Executive Director of Kituo Cha Sheria, noted that the headache of attaining the one-third gender rule might now be left to political parties.

“Every party has to ensure that it presents the needed number of women candidates. We find that even the youth are not contesting, although we would largely blame it on lack of finances,” she said.

Ruth Njoroge Enkesen, who recently contested the Kajiado North constituency seat on a Conservative Party ticket but lost to Moses Ole Sakuda of The National Alliance (TNA), attributes the trend to lack of fairness in campaigns and the electioneering process.

“Competition is not healthy for female candidates in the political field. You can note that even most youth are quiet on contesting,” said Ms Njoroge.

Like Ms Nyokabi, Ms Njoroge noted that most women are not endowed financially, while campaigning is a costly affair for candidates.

“It is unfortunate that Kenyan politics are based on a candidate’s monetary capacity and are coined in manipulation which women and most youth are not able to withstand,” she observed.

Raised alarm

But she notes that her experience in recent elections indicated that Kenyans want women leaders, but they always lose to some of their male counterparts.

“My campaigns favoured me, and not only as a person, but as a woman candidate,” she said.

The leaders also raised alarm over lack of civic education at the grassroots level, noting that most women at the grassroots level believe that only women will elect a woman representative.

Last week, Laikipia West MP Ndiritu Muriithi, Jeremiah Kioni (Ndaragwa) and George Nyamweya accused the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) of doing little in conducting civic education.

“It is unfortunate that with barely four months to the General Election, the commission or any other Government department has not kicked off civic education programmes,” said Mr Kioni.

Mr Muriithi said: “People think that only women will elect a woman representative.”

Ms Njoroge observed that the Government has failed in conducting civic education, while non-governmental organisations (NGOs) carrying out the exercise are concentrating on only one section of the community.

“We expect that by now, the government would have released funds to political parties to help them carry out civic education,” she said.

Inferior members

Lucy Mworia, who is vying the women representative position in Isiolo County, noted that NGOs have been targeting a certain cadre of people in their repeated civic education programmes.

“You find that only the same group of people are called to such forums which are held in expensive hotels. These people do not bother to pass the information and knowledge to grassroots people whom they reportedly represent,” said MS Mworia.

The aspirants however express concern that some communities, especially the Meru, Borana, Samburu and other pastoralist communities still take women as inferior members of the community.

Civic education

“The cultures and traditions and even some religious aspects limit the extents to which women can go in seeking leadership. In some cases, you find that even women shy from voting for their colleagues since the traditions and such beliefs are innate, while they do not have voices,” said Ms Mworia.

She continued: “I am not afraid of running for any positions in Isiolo County despite the beliefs since Isiolo is cosmopolitan, but I think what is more important at the moment is a vigorous civic education exercise.

In Central Kenya, only Karua, Special Programmes Minister Esther Murugi and Tourism Assistant Minister Cecily Mbarire are in elective positions.

This is a far smaller figure in Parliament, compared to their counterparts in Rift Valley, which accounts for seven women MPs out of the 15 elected women MPs.

The region is however better off than Nyanza which does not have any elected woman MP, although it was the first region to give Kenya its first elected woman MP in 1969, Grace Akech Onyango.

The region has elected two other women—writer Grace Ogot and Dr Phoebe Asiyo.

Barbara Wachaga, an official with Centre for Rights Education and Awareness (CREAW) notes that unlike in the past, the constitution has given women more confidence to contest.

She however notes that most of them are faced with hurdles like lack of logistics, which hampers their campaigns.

More confidence

“We have been trying to educate them on how to link up with the electorate at all levels, and this helps build their confidence in facing the competition,” says Ms
Wachaga.

In Nyeri County, for example, no woman has declared interest in the senator or governor’s seat. At the same time, three candidates, Nyokabi, Catherine (Cathy) Irungu and Ms Mukami are vying for the women representative seat.

In MP positions, barely four women are vying for parliamentary seats in a field dominated by men, among them Mary Wambui (Othaya), Mary Wambui (Kieni) and Janet Muthoni (Kieni).

Kieni has the highest number of female aspirants who will face their male counterparts, among them, incumbent Nemesyus Warugongo and aspirants, James Mathenge Simon and Wainaina Njoroge who are vying on a TNA ticket.

In Murang’a County, reports indicate that only Alice Muthoni Wahome is vying for the Kandara parliamentary seat, currently occupied by Maina Kamau.

In Kiambu County, only two women, Alice Wambui Ng’ang’a and Ruiru Deputy Mayor Esther Nyambura Gathogo are contesting Thika and Ruiru parliamentary seats, while 13 others have crowded the women representative’s seat.

Ms Ng’ang’a tells The County Weekly: “They fear violence and confrontations, but what they are not aware of is that the law now protects all aspirants against abuses”

Role model

She continues: “What Kenyan women need is civic education and a reminder that the same men they compete with in politics are the same they attended school together and beat in examinations.”

Ms Ng’ang’a says women in the region require a strong role model to show them that they can make it in politics, just like their male counterparts.

“We need to remind women that they must come out and vie these positions since it is their constitutional right,” she says.