It is easier to mine gold in Meru and Kisii than find elected woman MP

Parliament is staring at a crisis. The Two Thirds gender rule has been a hard nut to crack for Parliament.

Cases have been heard in court, orders given, affirmative action strategies placed but we simply do not have enough women in  both Houses.

As the country grapples with increasing the number of women in Parliament there are regions that are lagging behind with some holding the dubious distinction of having not elected a woman to Parliament.

What do Kisiis and Merus have in common? No, it is not the legendary volcanic temper of their men, or the similarity in their languages and names, such as Mogambi and Mugambi. It is the suspect distinction of having never electing women to high offices.

NEVER ELECTED

Consider this fact: Since Kenya’s Independence in 1963, some 54 years now, the Kisii community, the seventh largest tribe in Kenya according to the 2009 Population and Housing census, has never elected a female MP apart from those of the Women Representative, a position that was specifically created to boost women representation in Parliament. 

This is despite the fact that Kisiis are one of the most dispersed communities in Kenya and hence is widely thought to hold liberal views on women empowerment.

In fact there were no female candidates for parliamentary seats in the August 8 polls in Nyamira County, one of the two counties dominated by the Abagusii.

They were bested by the Somalis who elected their first ever female MP — Sophia Abdi Noor of Ijara constituency — during last month’s General Election.

ONE WOMAN

In the same period since Independence, the Merus, Kenya’s ninth largest tribe according to the 2009 census, have only elected only one woman MP. Ms Anarita Karimi Njeru was elected the MP for Meru South (now Imenti South) in 1975 but she did not even get to finish her first term.

Her term ended unceremoniously in 1978 after being sentenced to a two-year jail term on a charge of misappropriating funds as a high school principal.

The irony of it all is that, since then, the Merus have now twice elected a Kenyan of Indian descent as their MP (Rahim Dawood of Imenti North), but their female parliamentary candidates perform dismally during general elections.

Contrast this performance on gender parity among the Kisii and the Ameru with that of the Luo who in 1965 elected Grace Onyango as the mayor of Kisumu and did one better four years later, in 1969, by electing her the Kisumu Town MP. 

HIGHEST NUMBER

Or compare it with the Kalenjin community who elected the fiery Chelagat Mutai the Eldoret North MP at just 24 years old in 1974. She held the record of being the youngest MP ever until John Mwirigi (a Meru) was elected the MP of Igembe South at the age of 23 in the August 8 polls.

In the 2007 general elections, the Kalenjin elected the highest number of female parliamentarians—eight. In the August polls they elected Joyce Laboso of Bomet County as one of three female pioneer governors.

READ: Record 22 women for Parliament

READ: Gender rule yet to be attained despite progress

READ: Nominated women MPs make it to Parliament

So why do certain communities easily elect women than others? Abagusii Cultural and Development Council Regional Chairman Mr James Matundura says besides lack of finances, women are their own worst enemies.

“Women are the first to neglect their fellow women,” he said. Mr Matundura said they have held many meetings with leaders and expressed the need to have more women elected to various positions.

“But we are still not there, a lot of civic education is needed,” he said. He said that lack of gender balance overburdens the locals as more women have to be nominated to meet the constitutional requirement of the two-third gender rule.

ATTEMPTED

Four women attempted parliamentary races in Kisii County but none won.  Ms Rosa Orondo of ODM was the only woman who challenged men in the Majoge Bassi ward rep seat and won.

Ms Getrude Nyatichi, a widow who vied for the Bomachoge Borabu Parliamentary seat on the Amani National Congress (ANC) party, wished her community was more liberal and more accommodating of women venturing into politics. She agreed with Mr Matundura that women are their own enemies.

“Some women argued that just because I was a widow, I had no one to control me and that I was reckless. There was that perception that I would look for other men out there and hence fail to deliver,” she said.

Ms Rachel Otundo who vied for the Nyaribari Chache parliamentary seat in last month’s polls said the greatest un-doing for women politicians is lack for finances. “Where I come from, people got used to hand-outs and never see good leadership in anyone,” she says.

CULTURAL STEREOTYPES

However, Kisii County Woman Representative Janet Ongera said women from the region must not shy away from politics.

She however says the community is slowly moving away from cultural stereotypes that drag women behind.

“I was elected despite being unmarried and having no child. We are slowly maturing into a democratic society,” she said. The former Nominated senator said those aspiring for positions must however participate in public forums and programmes long before the election season.

The failure to embrace women in politics in Meru is evidenced by the fact that only two women were elected to the Meru County Assembly this year down from five in the 2013 elections.

Only one woman offered herself for a parliamentary race in the nine constituencies in the county.

FEAR

Ms Beatrice Karwitha vied in North Imenti and fought it out with nine men. In a previous interview, she said most women were not keen on joining politics due to the fear of name-calling that largely involves mudslinging.

Ms Winnie Kaburu who vied for the Meru gubernatorial seat in last month’s polls said the myth that ‘a woman cannot play top level politics’ is still strong among the electorate in Meru.

“During the campaigns, I visited a women group and after sharing my vision with them, one woman was concerned whether I could match the men in the race. Another young man wondered whether time was ripe for a female governor in Meru. Our people still need a lot of civic education to understand leadership is not about gender,” she said.

Ms Flora Igoki, now a Kenyan-Canadian came face to face with the hardships female candidates face after she was attacked by her political opponents three months to the 2007 General Election.

She advises women politicians to stand out by actively engaging in leadership. “My advice to women politicians is to take every stone thrown to them and build a bridge,” she said.

TWO WOMEN

But it would erroneous to think that it is only the Abagusii and the Ameru that discriminate against their women in elections. The Luhya, Kenya’s second largest ethnic community after the Kikuyu according to the 2009 census, has elected only two women in their history.

They started off on the right foot by electing Dr Julia Ojiambo as MP, the second MP for Samia (now Funyula) in 1974. 

A nutritionist by profession, Dr Ojiambo entered Parliament together with Ms Chelagat Mutai of Eldoret North.

But it was until 2002, 28 years later, that the Luhya community elected another women to Parliament. In the December 2002 General Election, they elected Prof Christine Mango as the MP for Butula. In 2013 Mary Emase was elected as Teso South MP, but though the Iteso are found in former Western Province, they are not part of the Luhya subtribes.

DEFIED CURSE

In the 2013 General Election, Ms Peris Tobiko defied a “curse” from male elders against vying to become the first Maasai female MP when she defeated seven men for the Kajiado East Parliamentary seat.

However, her victory was not followed by a flood of female MPs from the Maasai community as it was anticipated.

Although Ms Tobiko retained her seat in last month’s elections, in Narok County, there were no female candidates for all the top posts. The few who had attempted were defeated in the party nominations and did not make it to the ballot.

Ms Agnes Pareyio and Ms Agnes Shonko contested the Narok North Parliamentary seat but were defeated during party nominations.

Ms Mercy Meigara Naserian was the only female candidate for the Member of County Assembly seat. She was vying for the Ololulung’a ward seat.

NOT EXTINGUISHED

Ms Kelly Konchella, an administrator at Maasai Mara University and a political analyst said Narok voters need to embrace women leadership just like in other counties. “We have failed as women,” she said. “We are not bold enough to even try. We cannot be intimidated by the theory that women are of a weaker sex,” she added.

But the dream of women leadership in the county has not been totally extinguished as the county has a female deputy governor, Ms Evelyne Aruasa.

She and her boss, Mr Samuel Tunai were re-elected for a second term on Jubilee Party.

The Samburu, cousins of the Maasai, broke their long tradition of not voting in women by electing not one but two female MPs during last month’s polls.  

Ms Naisula Lesuuda won the Samburu West Parliamentary seat while Ms Sarah Korere won in Laikipia North.

Hopefully, their victories mark the start of a lasting fortunes for female leadership in the country.

–Stories by Kipchumba Some, Ruth Mbula and David Muchui