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The General Election had its fair share of surprises as the electorate picked leaders that will, hopefully, develop the country.
Campaigns were intense as candidates marketed their ideas and manifestos to win the hearts of voters.
And for anyone who thought formal education was the only means to leadership, Lake Zone ward voters in Turkana North beg to differ.
Legislators in the last Parliament were successful in pushing for changes to election laws that saw enforcement of the section dealing with academic requirements for MPs and MCAs suspended until after this year's elections.
Leah Nachere, who speaks only the Turkana language, was a beneficiary of this enforcement. Ms Nachere emerged the victor in the August 8 polls and will be representing the pastoralist community in the county assembly.
She has no concrete formal education and her only mode of communication is Turkana and a little Kiswahili.
Nachere, 67, beat candidates with attractive academic credentials.
Her election may open up debate on who makes a viable leader because conventionally, people have pegged leadership performance on academic credentials, which in some cases has disappointed.
But Nachere is confident that the electorate will be happy with her performance and says regulations on academic requirements should be relaxed to allow those with leadership qualities to take up different positions.
Empowered mother
"I got a breakthrough in politics through my slogan – 'Echami a too' (mother's love) that empowered women regarding leadership," she said.
Nachere added that her resolve to join the male-dominated political field was motivated by a desire to inject hope and a new mindset into leadership that will also be all-inclusive.
"Let me be a living testimony to fellow women that leadership is not the preserve of our male counterparts. Let us wake up and fight for these positions," she said.
The MCA-elect said leadership was an inborn gift that was discernible through a person't method of doing things.
"Turkana has plenty of leaders who have for a long time been locked out of positions because of academic credentials, she said.
Although she never has stepped been inside a classroom, Nachere has made history as the first female elected MCA in Turkana since the introduction of devolution.
The county has 30 wards and more women are expected to be nominated to meet the constitutional gender threshold.
"As a girl in Turkana, it was impossible to go to school because you were being taught how to cook in preparation for marriage," said Nachere when she was asked why she didn't pursue education. "Parents received dowry in form of livestock that brought instant wealth for the family."
Financial constraints
She also cited financial constraints as a challenge that has hindered many children from going to school.
She said any money residents earned was used to fight ravaging hunger and pledged to sponsor bills and motions in the county assembly that would help mitigate the challenges facing her people.
The mother of three was a nominated MCA in the last assembly.
She narrated the difficulties she faced in her campaigns, including insults and ridicule because of her gender and level of education.
