By Lauryne Akoth
In a ceremony in Nairobi, President William Samoei Ruto launched the Women Governors Caucus G7 strategy today.
The strategy aims to expand women’s leadership in devolved units. Several women in leadership positions attended the ceremony, including the 7 sitting governors; Council of Governors Chair and governor Kirinyaga County Anne Waiguru, Machakos Governor Wavinya Ndeti, Homabay Governor Gladys Wanga, Nakuru governor, Susan Kihika, Cecily Mbarire, Embu County, Wavinya Ndeti Machakos County, and Fatuma Achani Kwale County.
Cabinet Secretary for Gender, Culture, the Arts and Heritage, Aisha Jumwa was also in attendance.
Addressing the gathering, the president discussed the topic of women’s involvement in leadership. He emphasized that the nation’s economy could evolve into an industrialized, high-income entity by significantly promoting the inclusion and active participation of women in leadership roles.
The president observed that, despite the election of a limited number of women, the majority of voters are, in fact, women themselves.
“It is now the moment for women to go beyond their role as voters and actively engage as candidates elected to leadership positions.”
He encouraged the seven elected governors to excel in their respective roles, fostering an environment that promotes the election of more women to positions of authority.
The president also pledged to enact the Two- third gender rule.” I want to commit to the women of Kenya, that this time round, the two-third gender rule will be attained.”
“The commitment I made is that for the 296 elected members of parliament, one-third has to be women,” said Ruto.
He mentioned that he had instructed Kimani Ichung’wah, the leader of the majority in parliament, and the Parliamentary Group (PG) of the Kenya Kwanza team to actively advocate for the implementation of the two-thirds gender rule, to achieve progress by the upcoming year.
“I have talked to many leaders, especially men and I can tell ladies for the first time I see that men are committed to making sure that this time round we succeed in actualizing the 2-third gender rule in the frame we have set.”
In the spirit of the two-thirds gender rule, the president committed to a new practice within the UDA party.
Henceforth, if a man is a presidential candidate within the party, a woman will be chosen as the running mate, and vice versa. This commitment extends to the election of governors as well, ensuring gender balance in leadership positions.
“We must also agree going forward that if a man is a candidate for president in our party, the woman must be the running mate and vice versa. We will also cascade it down to the governors,” said the head of state.
The president also tasked the chair of the UDA party, Governor Cecily Mbarire with the job of enforcing the new initiative promising to back her fully.
The president also gave former Machakos Governor Charity Ngilu her flowers by acknowledging her bravery in being the first woman to run for president.
He also recognized that the previous election marked a significant turning point in the transformative inclusion of women in leadership, exemplified by the election of seven women as governors.
“I am confident that the governor’s seat should be able to achieve the parity benchmark much more than the other seats,” said Ruto.