Agnes Kavindu Muthama sworn as senator

Senators have lauded Machakos Senator Agnes Kavindu Muthama’s win in last week’s by-election as a boost in the push for gender equity.

Ms Kavindu, who served as a member of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) taskforce, was  sworn into office yesterday. Nominated Senator Abshiro Halake and her Bungoma colleague Moses Wetang’ula witnessed her oath-taking as a Senator.

Watching from the gallery too, was Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka and a host of other leaders who had accompanied her on her first day of work. Ms Kavindu won Machakos race on a Wiper party ticket by 104,352 votes, trouncing her rival, United Democratic Alliance’s Urbanas Muthama who got 19,726 votes.

Senators termed Kavindu’s triumph as a win for women in a Parliament where gender balance is still elusive.

Deputy Speaker Margaret Kamar saluted Kavindu as the fourth woman elected as a senator. Kavindu joins Kamar, Nakuru’s Susan Kihika and Isiolo’s Fatuma Dullo as those elected into the current Senate. Her entry brings the total number of women senators, elected and nominated, to 22.

Senate Minority Leader James Orengo lauded Kavindu for her “mature and issue-based politics”. He also drew parallels with the current events in Tanzania, which recently got its first female president, Samia Suluhu.

“It is not without significance that we are welcoming today the distinguished senator from Machakos when in the neighbourhood a lady has been enthroned as the president of Tanzania,” he said.

Orengo’s sentiments on Kavindu’s display of a neat kind of politics were echoed by Senator Wetang’ula, Deputy Majority Leader Dullo and Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala, who urged women to soldier on in fighting for their space in leadership.

In the strict arithmetic sense, Senate is yet to achieve the constitutional threshold as the percentage of women senators is 32.8 per cent.