By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Women leaders in Kenya have called on the newly inaugurated President of the country, William Ruto to fulfill his promise in getting more women participate in the political process.
Kenya recorded a significant breakthrough during the August election by electing the highest number of female office holders, both as governors and parliamentarians.
The number of female governors was more than double of the highest ever while the number of female parliamentarians jumped by nearly a third.
Seven female governors out of a total of 47 were elected, representing about 15%. Also, female parliamentarians are a slightly larger proportion, at about 23%.
“We shall allocate 50% of all cabinet positions to the women of Kenya,” Ruto told a campaign rally in June, to cheers and vuvuzela horns from the crowd.
He had during his inauguration on Tuesday applauded the milestone where he also promised to enhance gender balancing in recruitment of officials of government.
“A significant dividend of our electoral and democratic process is the tremendous achievement we made in breaking the glass ceiling by enhancing the participation of women in leadership,” he told a cheering crowed.
Ruto promised on the campaign trail to uphold a 2010 constitutional clause that says no more than two-thirds of any elected body can be comprised of one gender.
He promised to ensure relevant agencies of government observe the rule as well. This clause has never been fulfilled and many women politicians want it fully implemented.
A lawyer Susan Kihika, who was elected as the first female governor of Kenya’s populous Nakuru County during the August parliamentary, presidential and county polls said, “We will look back and say this time was really historical”.
“But we are nowhere near where we need to be,” said Kihika.
According to the Governor, female candidates face abuse and physical assault, deterring many women from running. She advocated a better protection on the campaign trail for women.
Ruto was the only one of four presidential candidates without a female running mate in the August election, though he has promised to give more power to women in politics.
In 2020, the then-chief justice of the Kenyan Supreme Court ordered parliament to be dissolved for failing to implement the gender rule.
Kenya’s high court later suspended the order’s implementation and there has been little movement on the issue since then.
