What it would take to have female DP candidates

Politicians Martha Karua, Charity Ngilu and Anne Waiguru come first in the minds of Kenyans as potential running mates for presidential aspirants, according to TIFA poll findings released last month.

Narc Kenya leader Karua topped as the most preferred candidate for Azimio La Umoja One Kenya flagbearer Raila Odinga with 13 per cent, followed by Narc leader Ngilu, who is governor of Kitui County, with five per cent.

Kirinyaga Governor Waiguru was the only woman preferred for Deputy President William Ruto of Kenya Kwanza Alliance, scoring 15 per cent.

But are there other women who fit the bill?

Nation.Africa’s random interviews with 11 people, all based in Nairobi, between March 22 and March 31, resulted additional names being touted to succeed Dr Ruto.

Those interviewed included a taxi driver, graphic designer, political analysts, journalists, human rights activist and a governance and development expert. Five were women and the rest were men aged above 30.

Four more names

Of the six men, one settled for Kandara Member of Parliament Alice Wahome because she is “fiery, intelligent and speaks her mind without fear”.

Another identified Prof Olive Mugenda, the Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital Board chair, saying her track record “speaks for itself”.

Four men stuck with Ms Karua, even though the question was about other women who similarly qualify for the position.

One woman could not think of any other option besides Ms Karua, saying she is a straight-talking politician who has not been implicated in corruption.

Another said all women who have been on the political scene for more than 10 years qualify.

The third woman picked Daisy Amdany, the vocal gender equality advocate and executive director of the Crawn Trust, a women's rights organisation.

The remaining two offered Murang'a Woman Representative Sabina Chege. They said besides being loyal and a good communicator, she firmly and consistently stands up for girls’ rights. They added that she is humble and relates well with her constituents.

So then, it's clear Kenya is spoilt for choice on women who can occupy DP’s Karen residence. But what will it take for any of the presidential aspirants to pick a woman running mate?

Ability to mobilise support

Mr Ibrahim Oruko, a political writer with Nation Media Group, says politicians won't be doing women a favour by having a female as a running mate. It would simply be helping actualise Article 27(8) of the Constitution that requires no more than two thirds of elected or appointed members of an institution be of the same gender, he says.

Mr Oruko says whoever makes that decision will be sending out a political statement that he is supporting the implementation of the provision. He, however, puts a caveat.

“Politics being a game of numbers, you must have a female running mate who will attract votes. A running mate complements the efforts made by a presidential aspirant to get votes," he says.

NTV senior political affairs reporter Kennedy Mureithi concurs. He asks: “Can they influence the numbers?

“It is a viable thing to have a woman as deputy president, yes. But are the presidential aspirants willing? That is another question.”

Money factor

Then comes the money issue as a major consideration.

“Money is a serious factor in politics and, in this case, women are considered underdogs. The people who have most of the money are the men. We have not seen one woman going out of her way to transverse the country,” he says.

Prof Winnie Mitullah, a governance and development expert, however, looks beyond resources and for her, some factors that make society opt for men are just difficult to explain.

She says men have over time built their socio-economic capital, which add them insurmountable points at the negotiating table. This power goes beyond campaign money to having influential contacts and being popular on the ground.

“Women have what it takes, but these externalities that you have to leverage to win at that political table is what is the deficit,” she explains.

“And it is a very soft power. It is a power that you cannot easily say this evening I'm going to pick it and have it. It is a power built over a long period of time. People like Ngilu and Martha have built that capital. We can go back to asking what makes one not think of Ngilu or Martha?”

But then culture has its landing in this space, giving men preference for power over women. She exemplifies the case of Abduba Dida who in 2013 joined the race just a few months before the election against Ms Karua who had been on the campaign trail earlier.

“But Dida beat Martha in terms of votes. I would, and will, never be able to explain how Dida got votes,” she observes.

Based on Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission data, Mr Dida, who vied on the Alliance for Real Change ticket, garnered 52,848 votes, while Ms Karua had 43,881.

Prof Mitullah says the fact the Mr Dida got 8,967 votes more than Ms Karua cannot be justified by the virtue of him being a teacher, thus it was, perhaps, resonating better with voters.

But there is hope!

ODM Women's League president Beth Syengo notes that presidential aspirants can settle for a woman if the women use their numerical strength to demand it.

“If women can come together and speak in one voice and make a demand, it can happen,” she says.

Women constitute 50.5 per cent of the 47,564,296 Kenyan population, according to the 2019 Census.

She observes that since political parties are the vehicles that propel women to power, they have to be intentional in supporting women to get into political leadership.

Ms Syengo says women have to lobby their parties to give women direct tickets in their strongholds and where they are popular.

Already, ODM has directly nominated Homa Bay Woman Representative to run for the county’s gubernatorial seat.

She calls on women “to elect their fellow women; women to support each other; women to trust other women”.

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