Taking stock: What female candidates bring to the table of politics

This year’s General Election has attracted a huge number of female aspirants. Despite lack of implementation of the two-thirds gender rule that would have guaranteed inclusivity in parliament, women have risen to the occasion, bringing a wealth of knowledge from professional and business backgrounds and astute leadership into elective politics.

Patience Nyange, gubernatorial aspirant for Taita Taveta County, brings more than 20 years’ experience from various sectorsy including media, human rights advocacy and governance.

She is a communications expert who served as Council Member at the Media Council of Kenya and Assistant Director at Kenya National Commission on Human Rights.

In an interview with #VoterHerIn Campaign, she reveals plans to harness her substantial mainstream media background while working for Baraka FM Radio, KBC Radio Taifa, British Broadcasting Corporation and as Communications Advisor at Ministry of Devolution and Planning to spearhead development in Taita Taveta County.

“My main agenda is to set up manufacturing industries in Taita Taveta County that would kick-start much needed development in the county. I also want to increase access to health care, education and employment to my people and in particular vulnerable groups such as the youth and women,” Ms Nyange said.

If elected, the communications expert will become the first female governor for Taita Taveta County.

Similarly, Lilian Mbogo, senatorial aspirant for Embu County who has a slogan ‘The Voice of Embu’, will be leveraging her leadership background to contribute to Parliament’s Upper House.

Ms Mbogo has worked in development and governance sectors in various capacities over the years. After working with the United Nations for more than a decade, she switched to working with governments as CEO of New Partnerships for Africa’s Development (Nepad).

She later joined the Kenyan government as a Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Public Service and Youth Affairs. Her primary ambition for Embu County is to give voice to a community that she believes has previously been lumped together with other counties, robbing it of its own voice.

Further, she hopes to bring clarity to the role of a senator. “I have interacted at length with many leadership capacities and positions. There is lack of clarity on the role of the senator as far as the issues of Embu are concerned. My leadership background gives me a clear understanding of what the senator’s role is; it is to lobby for the allocation of revenue that is already approved,’’ she said during an Interview with #VoteHerIn.

Young women have also not been left behind in the race to the August poll. Reen Munialo, 32, is vying for Kiambu Member of Parliament (MP) seat. She seeks to increase the participation of young women in law and policymaking.

Ms Munialo is an avid businesswoman having served as the Managing Director for Reality Connection. She was also nominated as a Top Youth Female Entrepreneur in Kenya in 2017 and awarded as a Top Female Entrepreneur in 2019.

Although she serves as Member of County Assembly for Kiambu Township in the current government, she has dared to expand her leadership skills to constituency level.

With her business acumen, she represents the business community in Kiambu County and wishes to eliminate inequitable distribution of bursaries, increase access to education and revamp Kiambu’s heath care system.

The aspirants will be standing on the shoulders of women leaders who have ventured and succeeded in elective politics such as Nairobi Woman Representative, Esther Passaris, who will be defending her seat in this year’s poll.

Ms Passaris has opted out of vying for other elective seats in order to complete projects that she had begun under her leadership. One of the projects she is keen on completing is construction of safe houses.

“As woman representatives, we don’t have land. I decided to partner with Nairobi County Government and be allocated some. We have finally put the resources together and I would like to see the project to completion,” she says.

Other contenders will, however, be switching to more influential seats. An example is Senator Abshiro Halake, nominated Senator for Isiolo County, who is currently vying for the MP seat in Isiolo North Constituency. She believes the shift will assist her bring much needed change to her constituents.

“Change is not just good for us in Isiolo County, we must change or perish,” the Senator says.

Women’s participation in elective politics has been daunting even in the country’s capital, Nairobi, where only one out of the 17 constituencies is led by a woman.

The new entrants and the sitting leaders will go a long way to add new set of skills to Kenya’s legislature.

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