Attainment of gender parity in our leadership remains far cry

Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza during day two of her Impeachment hearing at the Senate on November 8, 2023. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

It is that time of the year again, when the impeachment of Governor Kawira Mwangaza is imminent, and we await the decision of the Senate on whether the Governor will be allowed to keep her seat, or whether the will of the Members of the County Assembly of Meru shall prevail.

This is the third time that Governor Mwangaza has been impeached, as she and the MCAs continue to go on a back-and-forth tussle that seems to go beyond the performance of the Governor into petty politics.

Mwangaza’s election to the position of governor was itself a great feat. As an independent candidate, she was able to fall Senator Mithika Linturi and Governor Kiraitu Murungi, both political bigwigs of long-standing and with massive followings.

This unprecedented win, and to such a high position where few women can be found, showed that Mwangaza's leadership qualities were strong enough to overcome any patriarchal thinking or dogmatic support of better-known candidates.

And the people were right to bet on Mwangaza. Since her election in 2022, she has consistently ranked amongst the top-performing governors, in spite of the constant attacks that she faces from her MCAs.

The average person in her shoes would be forgiven for not giving their best performance in the face of such persistent strife.

If anything, Mwangaza proves that women have to work twice as hard in order to get half the recognition men do or, in her case, no recognition at all.

It is interesting to note that Mwangaza rose to the position of Governor after serving as Meru’s Woman Representative from 2017 to 2022. In this position, her performance was so stellar as to garner the attention of the people of Meru and merit election to the top office in the County.

However, the Woman Representative position has often come under fire, with many who do not understand its importance arguing that the women in that office are failing at their mandate.

In recent times, with the Finance Bill having come under scrutiny and the need to reduce the bloated wage bill becoming a priority, it has been argued that the Woman Rep position ought to be scrapped altogether in order to reduce costs.

It is easy to connect the dots to make the conclusion that the reasoning behind the scrapping of the Woman Rep position is the same one that has the MCAs of Meru baying for Mwangaza’s blood and working to impeach her year after year.

The third impeachment of Mwangaza shines a light on the difficulty that Kenya will continue to face in seeking gender parity within its political ranks.

Mwangaza follows a long line of women who have faced untold adversity as they sit in offices that have previously locked them out.

Perhaps one of the most famous examples of this is that of Dr. Nancy Baraza, Kenya’s first Deputy Chief Justice after the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution, who was forced to resign after an incident at a mall.

Her treatment of a security guard earned pushback that the likes of Babu Owino and Didmus Barasa, who sit in office even after shooting innocent civilians, have never faced.

If anything, Owino, as proof of the fact that men can be forgiven for even the greatest of sins, has many youths agitating that in the new Kenya, he be given a chance to run for President.

Barasa, on the other hand, shot at a civilian as the 2022 election was ongoing and still won his seat.

In spite of these patriarchal disadvantages that women face, great strides have been made, and the pressure that the pioneer women have faced opens the doors for other women to come in. The Judiciary is an excellent example of this, with two women at its helm.

At the very least, Mwangaza’s multiple impeachments should set a precedent that can be drawn upon to ensure that women have stronger protections, whilst her work ethic should be proof that women are worth betting on in the political arena.