African Independent Pentecostal Church of Africa chairperson Bertha Gaitho wants widows included in key positions in government.
Dr Gaitho, who is also the national chair of the Muungano wa Wajane, said the number of widows is large and “they go through huge upheavals of life to a point that they qualify to be categorised as a special-interest group”.
She said their inclusion in government as an independent voice will help them influence policies on succession and other areas.
"I can personally attest to it, having lived for the past 12 years as a widow. Were it not for my strong investment in the faith, I would have faltered a long time ago. From a point of first-hand experience and interactions with thousands of those widowed, we need our voice in government," she said.
Dr Gaitho spoke when AIPCA celebrated her 25 years of service as the national chairperson on Sunday.
Dr Gaitho, who this year also received a State commendation from President Uhuru Kenyatta for her service to the community. She was honoured by the church her late husband, Archbishop Samson Mwangi Gaitho, founded.
The commemoration was held at the Utalii College grounds, off Thika Road. It was attended by the three joint leaders of the church – archbishops Julius Njoroge, Samson Muthuri and Fredrick Wang'ombe.
After her husband died, Dr Gaitho did not abandon her commitment to serve the church and "even at my lowest moments in battling the aftermath of my husband's death, I never lost track of my spiritual well that is AIPCA".
"I have served the church for 25 years, 12 of them in widowhood, and I am humbled that my spiritual leaders have surprised me with a commemoration function," she said.
She said life became difficult when she lost her husband and sometimes she felt her spiritual faith desert her but persistent prayers and reaching out to others in her situation to exchange ideas help her through.
"Friends who were close to me deserted me. Inheritance warfront gates were thrown wide open. Efforts to throw me out of my matrimonial home were launched. Many refused to pick my calls in the believe that I was begging ... it was the onset of my defining moment," she said.
Dr Gaitho said that "when I had a scanty idea of what widowhood and the attached challenges were, here I was now experiencing it firsthand".
She said she had pangs of loneliness, upheavals and frustrations "to a point that in my desperation, I asked the spirit of my husband why it was not interceding for me at the throne of mercy in the heavens".
She said: "I remember in one of my dreams seeing my husband coming to me ... I ran to embrace him but before I could reach him, he disappeared, waking me in a tearful start".
These experiences, she said, increased her compassion for widows.
"I started seeing the brighter side of my tribulations – that I was lucky that my husband died when my children were old enough ... left us a home and entitlements. What about those widowed out there in the jungle of poverty?" she said.
She lamented that other widows struggle to bring up their children and are disinherited, saying the government should come up with a policy to ease succession cases.
Dr Gaitho said she has been instrumental in preparing a bill aimed at addressing the welfare of widows "but since 2015, the draft has never landed in Parliament”.
“Our bill is still lying on the shelves of the office of the Attorney-General. I continue to appeal that it be tabled in Parliament for debate and legislation. Once it becomes law, some of the challenges facing widows will be addressed,” she appealed.
She said she was proud to have survived the vagaries of widowhood, confronted the blemish of a divided AIPCA since the death of her husband, and offered a shoulder for many widows to lean on through her National Wajane Association that has a presence in 18 counties.
Archbishop Muthuri described Dr Gaitho as "a strong pillar in our church, our national chairlady who has an unadulterated history of strengthening the unity of the church, bringing many people together from all quarters".
He said "her character of bringing people together, wisely making decisions on which direction the church was to go on patent issues in the midst of the divisive storm left her highly respected".
"Mama Gaitho, who carries the Head of State Commendation (HSC), is not only an icon but whenever AIPCA Church is mentioned … into the future she will forever be in the records," Archbishop Njoroge said.
He said she has been instrumental in promoting togetherness, has a soft spot for women, winning her acclaim among them, and "our women gained their voice in AIPCA because of her".
Dr Gaitho founded the Leadership of Women Council, which was included in the church's constitution.
She also founded the Women Council Conference, and introduced and designed the women council's blue headgear that has been in use as part of the church’s uniform. She is also credited with designing the women council’s full uniform that is used by some branches. She also founded and designed the Mothers Council headgear that has the Independent Mothers Council (IMC) insignia on it.
Because women could not be ordained as ministers, Dr Gaitho introduced the Mother's Council's Group, a strong arm of the church.
Mrs Gaitho has also helped build structures that ensure AIPCA clerics’ spouses are recognised, respected and honoured.
Bishop Wang'ombe said Dr Gaitho is a natural leader to the community and an inspiration to many women in the faith.
"Even after the death of Archbishop Gaitho, Mama Ken, as we fondly refer to her, founded a community-based organisation that supports orphans and needy widows in the society.
Her husband was also credited with initiating many development projects, including the AIPCA Theological College in Kamulu, Nairobi County, and envisioned that it would develop into a fully fledged university.
When he died, President Mwai Kibaki noted that Kenya had lost "a reformist leader who was instrumental in the Interfaith Ufungamano initiative during the agitation for a new Constitution.
