By Mutinda Mwanzia
"Women and men voted for me in equal number and the final tally was a testimony to the belief they had in me," Wavinya Ndeti says of her historic win.
The 39-year-old Kathiani MP and assistant minister for Youth and Sports and her mentor, Water Minister Charity Ngilu, are the only women MPs from Ukambani in Parliament.
But Wavinya’s induction into national politics has not been a bed of roses. Last August, she openly differed with Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka, accusing him of threatening her and recording a statement with the police.
The incident occurred at the height of rebellion against Kalonzo by a group of MPs from the region led by Kiema Kilonzo (Mutito) and Charles Kilonzo (Yatta) and whom the VP felt were being used to undermine his authority in the region.
Wavinya was then lumped among a group of MPs perceived as anti-Kalonzo who included Ngilu, Kiema, Kilonzo and Kilome MP and assistant minister Harun Mwau.
Wavinya says the spat between her and the VP is a forgotten chapter.
"I am focussing on serving my electorate and not concerned with parochial regional politics," she told Sunday Magazine.
Wavinya Ndeti |
"My father was among the few councillors to be elected unopposed in independent Kenya and he served his electorate with diligence and honour," says Wavinya.
Despite her independent stance on many issues revolving around local and national politics, the outspoken MP does not see herself as a rebel.
"I speak my mind," she says, a trait she stresses has been misinterpreted by her political opponents.
An IT specialist, Wavinya is one of the 15 women who were elected to the 10th Parliament. She won the Kathiani seat through the Chama Cha Uzalendo (CCU) party, beating 16 male candidates.
Nominations rigged
Among them was former assistant minister Peter Kyalo Kaindi, who ran on an ODM-Kenya ticket, then the most popular party in the region as its leader, Kalonzo, was the presidential candidate.
Ironically, Wavinya had intended to run on an ODM-Kenya ticket but, she says, the nominations were rigged in favour of Kaindi whom she says she had beaten squarely.
Out of frustration, she decamped to the CCU and the rest, as they say, is history.
The MP considers her election as a sign of trust and faith her constituents had in her.
"I was rigged out in the ODM-Kenya nominations but did not lose hope. The fact that the people of Kathiani voted for me on a little-known party ticket is a sign that they had trust me," says Wavinya who garnered 28,178 votes against Kaindi’s 9,813 in the last General Election.
It is a win, she says, she was ready for because she had campaigned adequately at the grassroots and was confident of earning victory.
She offered the voters a platform for change because they were tired of the usual retrogressive politics.
The constituency is home to several powerful, wealthy politicians and powerbrokers, including retired military boss, former area MP Jackson Kimeu Mulinge. He was trounced by Kaindi in 1997.
Her focus has been to use the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) to spur development and ensure the kitty is managed in a transparent and accountable manner. She wants to leave a legacy in the five years of her first term in Parliament.
Wavinya Ndeti with Prime Minister Raila Odinga at a past function. Photo: File/Standard |
"What I want to achieve for the people is development to ensure they have the confidence to give me a second term come 2012," says Wavinya.
Service to electorate
She believes elective politics should be a service to the electorate and, as an MP, one has to be in touch with the people.
"When you lose touch with the masses they will certainly teach you a lesson come the next polls."
She says politics is often branded a dirty game but the players are the ones who make it dirty.
"Politicians can keep the game clean. I believe clean people can remain clean in the game despite its getting murky," says Wavinya.
Wavinya understands that voters have a lot of expectations of their MPs. But, she adds, it is not right or fair for the voters to see MPs as mobile Automated Teller Machines.
"The electorate need to develop a culture of hard work and shun the culture of expecting handouts from their leaders."
Wavinya is one of the MPs who would like her colleagues in Parliament taxed. But she has not made that all-important step of getting the Kenya Revenue Authority tax her allowances like two MPs have independently done.
Back to her Kathiani constituency which is now a district with two divisions — Athi River and Kathiani — and home to the industrial Athi River town, the MP would like to see her people benefit from the factories in the town through employment.
"The companies should hire local casuals. This way everybody gains," says Wavinya.
One of the things she would like to see in Kathiani before the end of her five-year term is to have companies giving back to the community through financial assistance to boost local projects in schools and hospitals.
A computer science expert by training, Wavinya was the chief executive officer of a Nairobi information and communication technology company before venturing into politics. Wavinya studied at Athi River and St Mary’s Molo primary schools before joining Kenya High School for her ‘O’ Levels.
She joined the West London College for an advanced diploma in business system analysis and design, before enrolling in South Bank University in London from where she graduated with a BSc in Computer Science.
"Education abroad helped shape and open windows of opportunities for me. I met people from across the globe who impacted positively on me," says Wavinya. She also holds masters degrees in science and business administration from United Kingdom.
