REVEALED: Why Female Governors Stormed Out CoG Elections In Nairobi
On Monday, intriguing details emerged about divisions within the Council of Governors (CoG) after female County Chiefs were bypassed in the election, which resulted in a male-dominated leadership structure.
According to a high-level source present at the Safari Park Hotel where the voting took place revealed that the female governors stormed out after their demands were ignored.
The female governors are said to have pushed for Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga and her Machakos counterpart Wavinya Ndeti to be considered for the Vice Chairperson position.
However, their pleas were ignored by their male counterparts.
They stormed out of the voting venue in protest just before the results were announced after one of them whispered to her colleagues about the walkout.
“If you can see from the list, it is only Wavinya Ndeti who is on that lineup where the others are all male Governors,” the source who spoke on condition of anonymity revealed.
“They had presented the names of Gladys Wanga and Wavinya Ndeti to be considered for the vice chairperson role, a condition that was not granted.”
“This prompted them to walk out just before the results were announced after one of them asked her colleagues to walk out.’’
All of this occurred while Chief Justice Martha Koome, who was in attendance, watched in amazement.
”Remember they all walked out of the meeting and the Chief Justice Martha Koome was also present. However, Anne Waiguru did not walk out as this was her event,” the source added.
The election was also delayed due to disagreements over the criteria for electing the new CoG chairperson.
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The process stalled for more than 5 hours before a consensus was reached to subject the exercise to a secret ballot.
The move by the female county executives is likely to cause a schism in the Council of Governors.
The female bosses had previously stated that they would spearhead a nationwide effort to expand their G7 caucus to include half the number of electable gubernatorial positions, renaming it G24.
Surprisingly, only one female governor made it onto the new list of CoG leadership, Machakos Governor Wavinya Ndeti, who was elected as the Trade Committee chair.
Here is the full list of the elected officials at the CoG election:
Chairperson – Ahmed Abdulahi(Wajir)
Vice chairperson – Mutahi Kahiga(Nyeri)
Chief Whip – Stephen Sang'(Nandi)
Health Committee Chairperson – Muthomi Njuki(Tharaka Nithi)
Agriculture Committee Chairperson – Kenneth Lusaka(Bungoma)
Legal Committee Chairperson – Ochilo Ayako(Migori)
Finance Committee Chairperson – Fernandes Barasa(Kakamega)
Environment Committee Chairperson – Wilber Otichilo(Vihiga)
Arid and Semi-Arid Committee Chairperson – Nathif Jamah(Garissa)
Blue Economy Committee Chairperson – Paul Otuoma(Busia)
Education Committee Chairperson – Eric Mutai(Kericho)
Gender Committee Chairperson – Simon Kachapin(West Pokot)
Human Resource Committee Chairperson -Johnson Sakaja(Nairobi)
Information Communication Technology Committee Chairperson – Wesley Rotich(Elgeyo Marakwet)
Lands and Housing Committee Chairperson – Anyang’ Nyong’o(Kisumu)
Resource Mobilization Committee Chairperson – Simba Arati(Kisii)
Security Committee Chairperson – Benjamin Cheboi(Baringo)
Tourism Committee Chairperson- Ntutu Patrick(Narok)
Trade Committee Chairperson – Wavinya Ndeti(Machakos)
Transport Committee Chairperson – Mohammud Ali(Marsabit)
Water Committee Chairperson – Irungu Joshua(Laikipia)
REVEALED: Why Female Governors Stormed Out CoG Elections In Nairobi
