The outliers: How Nakuru, Machakos girls stole the show

Nakuru and Machakos made history in the recently concluded polls by voting in women for both governor and senate seats.

In a largely patriarchal society, Nakuru and Machakos electorate entrusted their counties’ leadership to women.

In Nakuru, Susan Kihika trounced outgoing Governor Lee Kinyanjui, to win the gubernatorial contest, while Keroche Breweries CEO Tabitha Karanja clinched the senate seat.

Kenyans also elected 29 women single constituency members this year out of which Nakuru County had the highest number (four). They include Charity Kathambi (Njoro), Martha Wangari (Gilgil), Irene Njoki (Bahati) and Jayne Kihara (Naivasha).

In Machakos County, former Chief Administrative Secretary for Transport Wavinya Ndeti, won the governor race, beating her closest competitor, former State House Chief of Staff Nzioka Waita. Agnes Kavindu successfully defended her seat against her main opponent Urbanus Mutunga Muthama.

Political analyst Prof Herman Manyora attributes their success to many factors. He tells Nation.africa that the process of shifting patriarchal beliefs took many years to effect.

Embracing women's leadership

Long before the ‘Machakos and Nakuru girls’, as they are now popularly known on social media, these counties have embraced women’s leadership, albeit slowly.

In Nakuru, Alicien Chelaite was elected Nakuru Municipality (as it then was) mayor in 1996, becoming the first woman mayor in Central Rift Valley region. Fast forward to 2017, Ms Kihika became one of only three women senators elected in the country. Her win in this year’s poll makes her the first woman governor in the county.

In Machakos, Ms Ndeti becomes the second female governor in Eastern region after Charity Ngilu (Kitui) who served between 2017 and 2022.

Prof Manyora reckons that support from popular political parties in their regions was very instrumental. Ms Kihika and Ms Karanja vied on United Democratic Alliance (UDA) tickets, while Wavinya Ndeti and Agnes Kavindu ran on Wiper tickets.

“In some areas, the political party is the most critical factor in clinching an elective post. The successful women were in the party of the region. If they vied on different tickets, they would not have won. For example, in Nakuru, Mr Kinyanjui was a very strong candidate and had delivered so well that Ms Kihika needed a strong party to rally votes with,” he says.

His assertions are corroborated by a Tifa report released in May, which assessed the popularity of political parties and alliances. It found that Wiper was the most popular in Lower Eastern, while UDA was popular in Central Rift Valley.

Prof Manyora believes that endorsement by party leaders (President-Elect William Ruto of UDA and Kalonzo Musyoka of Wiper) also bolstered the women’s chances of winning.

He notes that visibility, which is also important in elective politics, also boosted the women’s chances.
“The ‘Nakuru and Machakos girls’ are formidable politicians in their own right. Irrespective of their gender, I believe they would still make worthy opponents in any political race.

“Even if Ms Ndeti and Ms Kihika faced male opponents during the party primaries, they would still have beaten them because they are tough politicians,” Prof Manyora adds.

Ms Kihika served as Nakuru County Assembly Speaker between 2013 and 2017 after beating 12 men. In the 12th Parliament, she was elected Senator and it was, therefore, no surprise that she won the gubernatorial seat.

Ms Ndeti first ventured into politics in 2007 when she successfully vied for Kathiani MP seat. In 2017, she took a stab at the governor’s seat but lost to the then-incumbent Alfred Mutua by a narrow margin.

She won this year’s poll, beating three men including Mr Waita, UDA chairman Johnson Muthama and outgoing Machakos Deputy Governor Francis Maliti.

Both camps’ campaign strategies revolved around lobbying for an increase in women’s political participation. There were strong campaign messages asking the electorate to vote for women.

Psychologist Faith Masambia, tells Nation.africa that the move was used to appeal to society’s belief that women are generally virtuous.

In Machakos County, Ms Ndeti, Ms Kavindu and Ms Kasimbi even held joint rallies that ultimately inspired the moniker ‘Machakos Girls’.

The three used the slogan ‘Kava mama’, which translates into ‘women are better’ to challenge voters to dare place faith in them.

In Nakuru, Ms Kihika employed the tag ‘Governor ni Mama’, which loosely translates into ‘the best governor is a woman’, to appeal to voters.

This strategy seems to have worked as James Kyalo, a Machakos voter tells Nation.africa that he voted for Ms Ndeti and Ms Kavindu because he believes they would curb corruption and put the county’s funds into good use.

Track record

Gilgil MP-elect Martha Wangari says her best campaign strategy was her impressive track record. She reveals that although she was contesting against well-moneyed male politicians, her previous work as the incumbent persuaded voters to support her.

“The stumbling blocks for a woman vying in Nakuru are not different from those a woman would face in Tana River. I performed well in the past five years because I am a fruit of affirmative action.

“Generally, when a woman doesn’t put in the work, it reflects on the whole gender, so I had to do a lot of work in my constituency to be re-elected,” she says.

Residents of Machakos and Nakuru counties are enthusiastic about their counties’ future. Gift Motari, 28, is proud to be a Nakuru resident.

“Our county elected three women for Governor, Senator and Woman Rep seats. This shows that Nakuru residents have embraced women’s empowerment. Going forward, we should even expect to see a woman president from Nakuru County,” Mr Motari says.

Zacharia Mwaka, from Machakos says he trusts that the new leaders will spearhead development.

“I believe this time round that Mama (women) will make good on their promises. Our elected leaders are well-educated and competent. Other countries such as Tanzania and Ethiopia had faith in women’s leadership and have prospered. I am optimistic that our leaders will do the same,” Mr Mwaka says.

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