Martha Karua was making history at 35- who will be the next young phenom?

When Azimio la Umoja One Kenya presidential candidate Raila Odinga named Martha Karua as his running mate, she made a mark as the first woman to contest the post on a serious coalition ticket.

Since the advent of the 2010 Constitution, women have made many strides, scoring many firsts. The number of women occupying elective office has also been on a steady rise since 2013 when the first elections under the new constitutional dispensation were held.

Notably, in the 8 August 2017 General Election, the number of women who got elected to various positions at the county and national assemblies increased significantly. It saw three women elected as governors and another three as senators.

The governors were Charity Ngilu (Kitui), Anne Waiguru (Kirinyaga) and the late Joyce Laboso (Bomet) while the senators were Margaret Kamar (Uasin Gishu), Susan Kihika (Nakuru) and Fatuma Dullo (Isiolo). The number women who won constituency seats also increased from 16 to 23 while those who made it to county assemblies also increased to about 100 from 84.

Before the advent of the new Constitution, Ngilu and the late Prof Wangari Maathai made stabs at State House, but were never successful because of various factors that hinder women politicians from achieving their ambitions including deep-rooted patriarchy, violence and inadequate finances.

Karua also vied in 2013 but was similarly unsuccessful. Her choice as running mate on a major coalition ticket offers the best chance women politicians have ever had to rise to the top of the national executive and offers hope the country will have a woman president in the foreseeable future.

While there has been progress in the other arms of government in giving women job progression opportunities, especially the Judiciary where Chief Justice Martha Koome, her deputy Philemona Mwilu and Registrar Anne Amadi call the shots, the Executive has never had a woman in the top two positions.

However, even as Karua’s feat offers inspiration to millions of women and girls, does the country have another politician in the mould of Martha Karua?

Critics say while the likes of Ngilu and Karua are lighting a candle for the young generation of women leaders, very few can hold a candle to them.

Many do not have a cause they believe in and dance to the tune of dominant male politicians giving rise to what some call “siasa za kutingiza kiuno.” They are also content with staying within a defined space. There are a few exceptions such as Homa Bay Woman Rep Gladys Wanga and her Murang’a counterpart Sabina Chege but they are both over 40 years. Karua was elected as Gichugu MP at the age of 35.

However, some women have made a mark in their 20s and early 30s and are poised to take over from where Karua will leave it. Among them is lawyer Wambui Nyutu, who is the youngest commissioner at the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC), where she doubles as the vice-chairperson.

When Karua was named as Raila’s running mate, Nyutu was elated. “Congratulations #irony lady one and only @Marthakarua! You have constantly stood for INTEGRITY and RULE of law. Indeed, the God of women is alive. Niko na Mama,” she tweeted.

The founder of WaremboNaUhuru lobby that campaigned for President Uhuru Kenyatta’s re-election in 2017 ranks high among those seen as future Karuas. At 30, she is the youngest ever commissioner of the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC), where she doubles as the vice-chairperson.

While she has shown interest in plunging into active politics, she turned down an offer to replace the late Jubilee nominated senator Victor Prengei, saying she was contented serving at NCIC

But she showed he prowess in the 2017 elections when she led Jubilee Party’s nationwide youth mobilisation, a task she told KTN in a recent interview saw her lose six kilos.

Nyutu is considered a fast-rising leader who has stood out since her days at the university, where she was the first female president of the Student Organisation of the University of Nairobi (Sonu).

The NCIC vice chair is already making a difference in society through her Wambui Nyutu Foundation, which has been at the centre of providing growth opportunities among children, the youth, and women-owned enterprises across Kenya.

Last year, a local daily named her as its person of the year.

Another promising leader is lawyer Ruth Ambogo, who is the manager in charge of programmes, policy and political engagements at Mama Ida Odinga’s office. In 2017, she served as the secretary of Daughters of Raila lobby.

Ambogo, who is also, a governance and policy expert, is the founding executive director at the Centre for Advocacy and Awareness on the Rights of Youth – Africa.

In 2014, Ambogo, 27, rebranded the Kenya Youth Senate where she served as deputy president. Further, she is the co-founder of the Young Kenyan Women Leaders (YKWL) and the founder and director at Educate Empower Africa.

She is among those who showed interest in the Vihiga Senate seat in this year’s election.

There is also Meru Woman Rep aspirant Edith Mwirigi, 31, who made history when she became the first female Sonu secretary-general after serving as vice president.

In doing so, she broke the tradition that saw female students consigned to such roles as treasurer, gender affairs secretary and vice-chair (academic affairs). Mwirigi, who told a campus magazine back then that she does not fathom discrimination, recently bolted out of the UDA, stating that even with a move to repeat the party primaries, she did not expect fairness.