BY NELSON MUTHOMI LEDAMA MATI
Governor Kawira Mwangaza has been quite the buzz of the town, her impeachment drama gracing our screens and print products, with people taking sides. One side requested the initiators of her impeachment to withdraw it, giving reasons that women leaders are being discriminated against and taunted in office by their male counterparts who deem them unfit to lead. The other side came out guns blazing at the cleric-turned-politician, on the grounds that she has been nepotistic, engaged in payment anomalies, and refused to act on the appointment of officials for some county agencies.
Looking at some of the women leaders that have graced our nation’s political landscape, like Wangari Maathai, Martha Karua, Charity Ngilu, among others, one might give Governor Mwangaza leniency on account of male politicians being driven to file impeachment motions based on gender. But if one were to look into her records, leadership history, political alliances, and other important factors, they might form the perception that she is behaving like any other leader: corrupt, carefree, and disingenuous.
On the 19th of August 2024, Citizen TV reported that the governor’s team was struggling to explain the use of a manual payroll to disburse over Kshs. 102.94 million for personal emoluments and payments to the public communications officer stationed at the office of the governor. This raises the question of how trusted she is to be accountable for the use of county resources, particularly money.
That aside, we need to do away with the mentality of women being seen as objects for sexual pleasure (in reference to Hon. Aburi’s utterances that were caught on video and played in Parliament during Governor Mwangaza’s second impeachment hearing at the Senate). Women are capable of leadership, and they can use the platform to champion the rights and interests of the girl child and their fellow women. They are also human, just like their male counterparts. Nonetheless, it is a default expectation that every leader be held accountable for their faults in office, without using gender, tribe, financial status, influence, or any other negative metrics to gauge whether one should be held accountable or not.
Governor Mwangaza’s case paints a picture of how progressive our political landscape in Kenya needs to be, how much we need to avoid being prejudiced against people simply because of their gender, and also a lesson to all of us to avoid using our flaws as leverage when cornered with our faults. We must own our faults and be ready to face the music.