politics

Women Leadership in Kisii and Nyamira Counties

Written by Nyachae Brian on December 4, 2023

There is a debate on why only a handful of women have made it to elective positions in Kisii and Nyamira counties.

The two counties are yet to elect a woman to the position of a Member of Parliament, senator, or governor.

A live talk show organized on the 1st of December 2023, at a leadership show in Vuna FM, dubbed, “Abarai Namagenderero” translated to Leadership and Development reveals a mixture of feelings regarding this subject.

Seventeen Call-ins were randomly received continuously by the host within thirty minutes. Seven were women and the rest were men.

This was after a live interview involving Dr Janet Komenda from Nyamira County who unsuccessfully attempted to vie for Member of Parliament North Mugirango in the last general election. These were their views:

Duke from Nyamira said women have their seat, the woman representative position. He further argued that they are not aggressive enough and thus can’t be trusted to negotiate for development. He concluded that even Biblically women are not supposed to lead

Ogero from Nyamira said the culture forbids a woman from political leadership. He further opined that women are stingy, they never even give out money during campaigns

Brian from Nyamira argued that women don’t love one another. He advised them to be united to see their own climb the political space.

Teresi from Keroka in Nyamira argued that from the Bible women are weaklings. They were not created for “aggressive” responsibilities like political leadership. He further observed that they despise one another and thus hard to unite for a political course

Obotu from Kisii County cited examples of women leaders like Teresa May, Kawira Mwangaza, and Gladys Wanga. She said women are great leaders given an opportunity. She further explained that women are development-oriented and unlike men, have a strong saving culture, the reason why they are perceived to be stingy.

Evaline from Kisii County argued that even from a family setup, women exhibit great leadership. She challenged men to overcome their fear of empowering women to lead. She also urged women to take advantage of their population to back one another in the political space.

Another caller from Nyamira argued that women are generally timid and thus cannot be trusted on matters to do with political leadership

Dennis from Kisii said he had participated as a chief campaigner for a woman who was contesting for a member of the county assembly position. She came second in the race. He says women who climb to power turn arrogant and thus he is against them scaling up to political leadership

Oboke Bwenkoro from Kisii argued that women are best in domestic duties, political leadership is not their calling. He cited his personal experience about a woman who was nominated to the position of member of the county assembly, she became arrogant at home and was not submissive to her husband. According to him, the said leader ended up leaving her matrimonial home.

Asked how leaders like Waiguru and Gladys Wanga have managed to lead, the caller opined that there is a lot hidden about the said leaders regarding their matrimonial responsibilities.

William from Kisii said a husband cannot trust his wife who is engaged in matters of politics. This sentiment was shared by many other male callers.

Another caller from Nyamira argued that women can be better leaders given a chance. She urged men to give them freedom arguing that if someone has bad character, it will be so regardless of whether she joins politics or not.

She however observed that some women leaders treat people with contempt, especially in the offices. She advised them to maintain respect and humility once they climb the leadership ladder

Kevin from Ogembo argued that a well-educated woman can lead and therefore should not be barred. This was shared by Josephine from Nyamira. She said a woman can be voted based on how she packages her development agenda to the people

A caller from Nyagenke in Nyamira said he is tired of male leaders. They are a menace even in funerals where they are just politicking. He advanced that it is about time women were given opportunity in the political space

Caroline from Nyamira said the majority of the men who are in elective positions end up adding more wives, something a woman in a similar position is not likely to do. She further argued that currently even back at home, it is women who are in charge, however, they give their husbands respect. This was supported by Deborah from Nyamira who urged that women be allowed to lead

A caller from Nyamemiso in Kisii County urged men to overcome the fear of empowering their wives and daughters. She argued that men are used to just seeing their wives in the village and cannot stomach seeing them at the “high tables”