Male losers in August polls married second wives for peace of mind - report
Report says wives of the men who lost kept on reminding them how they wasted family resources.
Male aspirants who lost August polls married second wives to get peace of mind while women who lost have endured constant physical assaults from their spouses, according to a report by the Gender Violence Recovery Centre (GRVC)
Some of the findings of the report which is still being compiled indicate that men got second wives due to the constant blame and bickering of their wives who accused them of depleting family resources with no results to show.
On the other hand, women who lost in the polls have endured physical assaults from their husbands for campaigning even at night and even being supported financially but still lost.
According to Alberta Wambua, Executive Director of Gender Based Violence Recovery Centre, the cases are still being recorded and final figures will be released upon the final compilation. She did not indicate the timelines.
Wasted family resources
Ms Wambua told the Nation on the sidelines of a UN for Women workshop in Naivasha that the wives of the men who lost kept on reminding them how they wasted family resources hence to avoid that daily reminder of failure, the men opted to marry a second wife to soothe their political bruises.
“You wonder why they married second wives yet he has spent all the money in campaigns but they tell us that they are tired of constant bickering from their wives who keep on reminding them about their loss," Ms Wambua said.
“Election in this country is an expensive affair. So you can imagine selling your house, family properties then you lose," she added.
Hostile treatment
For the wives, Ms Wambua said they are now receiving hostile treatment from their husbands including physical assaults for the loss for the same reason of using family resources and personal financial support from their spouses.
"Some of the women were supported by their spouses financially to campaign. The man would say how he was there all the time doing things like making tea and generally taking care of the house then there is nothing to show for it," Ms Wambua said.
In the run-up to the August polls, Registrar of Political Parties Anne Nderitu announced that psychosocial support will be available for those who have not won any seat in the polls.
Data from the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) shows that in the last elections, four candidates were cleared to run for President, 266 for governor seats, 341 for senate seats, 360 for Woman Representative, 2,132 for MP and 12,997 for Members of the County Assembly (MCA).
Despite the high number that expressed interest in the various political seats, only 1,882 elective slots are available. These include –President (1), Governor (47), Senator (47), Woman Representative (47), MP (290) and Members of the County Assembly (1,450).
This, therefore, means that 14,218 failed to clinch any seat in August despite spending millions of shillings in the campaign period.
Ms Wambua said while some victims reported others chose to go silent on the matter noting that while the number of assault cases for both genders might be too many, they are only dealing with those that have reported to them.
She said they will release the report soon after compiling the data from those that have reported.
Ms Wambua said in order to help victims heal and overcome the situation, they are organising therapy sessions and support for those affected to help them heal.
"Some of the cases you get to learn when you talk to them at an individual level when you start a conversation with someone. So what we do is organise workshops where we talk about these things and also give the opportunity to others to share and talk,” Ms Wambua said.
