How women bossed 2021

2020 was the year to forget. The Covid-19 pandemic took a heavy toll on everyone. Deaths, hospitalizations, business shut downs, job losses, depression and loneliness. It was all too much.

But in 2021, Kenya, just like the rest of the world, could afford to heave a sigh of relief. There was a resemblance of normalcy and a sense of hope in the just ended year. In this hope, thousands of women weathered the storm to become trailblazers.

From the woman who launched a small or medium business to the woman who got the chief executive position at a leading corporate, women broke the glass ceiling in various ways, big and small. To celebrate these women, the Saturday Magazine today highlights a few of the women who made the most remarkable milestones in 2021:

Martha Koome, Chief Justice

Martha Koome made history in Kenya when she was nominated to become Kenya's first woman Chief Justice on April 27, 2021 by the Judicial Service Commission. On May 21, she was sworn in as the first female Chief Justice in Kenya. Prior to her new job, Lady Justice Martha Koome was a judge at the Court of Appeal.

CJ Koome joined the Judiciary in 2003 and served in several stations, among them Nakuru and Nairobi, before she was elevated the Court of Appeal in 2011. She was instrumental in the establishment of the Family Division of the High Court.

In 2020, she was the runner-up for the 2020 UN in Kenya Person of the Year, a recognition for her children rights advocacy. During the vetting of judges and magistrates in 2012, Justice Koome chose to be interviewed in public. “I grew up in rural areas in Meru in a village so I am a villager to the truest sense. My parents were peasant farmers and we were 18 children from two mothers. So, for all of us especially girls, it was a struggle to overcome the odds, but by grace of God, I was able to go to school and graduated from the University of Nairobi in 1986 with a Bachelor's degree in Law, proceeded to the Kenya School of law and attained a Postgraduate diploma in law in 1987 being admitted to the Bar as an advocate the same year,” she describes herself.

She then proceeded to do Masters in Law in the University of London graduating in 2010 with a master’s degree in Public International Law.

Agnes Jebet Tirop, Late decorated Kenyan athlete

25-year-old Agnes Tirop was Kenya’s women's only world record holder in the 10km road race. She was found dead on October 13, 2021. She set the new world record in 10km road race after clocking 30:01 during the Adizero Road to Records event in Herzogenaurach, Germany on September 12. In the race, she lowered Morocco's Asmae Leghzaoui previous record of 30:29 set in New York in 2002. Her victory came a month before she was murdered.

Her husband was identified by detectives as the prime suspect in the murder. Tirop was also the World 10,000 metres bronze medallist. She also held the World Cross Country 2015 title. According to World Athletics, Tirop was a two time World Championships bronze medallist, one time World Cross Country Championships silver medallist, and an Olympic games finalist.

Patricia King’ori, Oxford University Professor

Kenyan-born Patricia King’ori made history in December 2021 when she became the youngest black woman professor at Oxford University. In this fete, Prof. King’ori also became one of the youngest women to be awarded a full professorship in Oxford’s 925-year history. Prof. Kingori is a British African sociologist based at Ethox Centre and the Wellcome Centre for Ethics and Humanities in London, UK- a research centre that aims at improving ethical standards in healthcare practice and medical research. Prof. Kingori also holds a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology from Royal Holloway, University of London and later worked as a research assistant at the institution. She focused her doctoral research on the ethical challenges experienced by frontline workers. She was born in Kenya. She however moved to Saint Kitts in the Caribbean with her parents while she was still a child. In her teenage years, she moved to the United Kingdom. According to an Oxford publication, Prof. King’ori is a recipient of the award for historic distinction in recognition of the quality and global impact of her research on academia and beyond. “She is currently the recipient of the prestigious Wellcome Senior Investigator award and leads an interdisciplinary team of researchers exploring global concerns around Fakes, Fabrications, and Falsehoods in global health,” Oxford University said in its online publication known as Somerville.

Rehema Kiteto, Assistant County Commissioner

She became Kenya’s youngest administrator when she was appointed as the Assistant County Commissioner by the Public Service Commission last year at the age of 24. Rehema holds a Bachelor of Arts (Sociology, English & Literature) from Egerton University. She graduated in 2019. Prior to her appointment, Rehema was largely involved in community work and community advocacy. In 2020, she was named the Volunteer of the Year in Kwale County by the Ministry of Labour & Social Protection Department of Social Development during the International volunteerism Day Celebrations. On March 7, 2021, she was awarded a certificate of recognition as one of the outstanding women under 35 in Kwale County. “I would like to rise through the ranks and be a senior administrator for an even bigger population. This should also make me financially stable enough to help the many people in my home area who seek assistance from me,” she said in an interview with the Nation after her appointment.

Betty Mwangi, CEO Jumia

Betty Mwangi is the current chief executive officer at Kenya’s largest ecommerce platform Jumia. She became the first Kenyan top executive at the business when she took over from Sam Chappate in November 2021. Betty previously served as Group Commercial Director for Britam Group PLC from 2016 to 2021. She also worked as the Director of Financial Services for Safaricom’s M-Pesa from 2007 to 2016 when she left to join Britam. In 2010, she was recognized as one of the most influential women in the mobile telecommunication industry by MCI Corporation. In 2013, while holding the position of General Manager of Financial Services at Safaricom, Betty was named among the top 20 most influential women in technology in Africa.

Dr. Beverlyn Cheserem, Neurosurgeon

Dr. Beverlyn Cheserem is a consultant neurosurgeon from the Aga Khan University’s Medical College, East Africa, Department of Surgery. In 2021, she was named as the winner of the CNS Foundation’s Future Women Leaders in Neurosurgery Scholarship. In 2021, Dr. Cheserem also took over as the Chair, Kenya Association of Women Surgeons for 2021 to 2023, Vice-Chair, Scientific Committee, Surgical Society of Kenya for 2021 to 2023, and Vice-Chair, Global Surgery Committee, Surgical Society of Kenya for 2021 to 2023. She is also a member of the British Association of Surgical Oncology (BASO), a full member of the Society of British Neurosurgeons (SBNS), UK, and a member of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS). Before she joined Aga Khan, Dr. Cheserem was a Weill Cornell Global Health Fellow based at the Muhumbili Orthopaedic Institute in Tanzania. She has also been a Skullbase Fellow at the University Hospital of Wales, and a Consultant Neurosurgeon at the Brighton and Sussex University Hospital in the United Kingdom.

Flora Mutahi, KEPSA Chairperson

In May 2021, Flora Mutahi made history when she was named as the first woman board chair at the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA). Prior to her appointment, Flora was an entrepreneur running the Melvin’s Tea business which she founded in late 1995. “Growing up, I always wanted to be an air hostess, because of frequent travel. Of course my parents would hear none of it. Being good in accounting, I pursued it to degree level and also enrolled for professional courses,” she said. However, Flora found herself skipping classes and James Mcfee, the director of the Accountancy at Strathmore University encouraged me to introspect and be true to herself, after which she chose entrepreneurship. In 2016, she was appointed chairperson of Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) board of directors. She served in this position for two years. In 2018, she was been appointed to the board of the United Nations (UN) Global Compact, chaired by UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

Wawira Njiru, Food 4 Education

Wawira Njiru was recognized by the United Nations as the 2021 Kenya Person of the Year. Wawira is a nutritionist and a food scientist. She is the executive director of Food 4 Education, an organization that cooks, prepares and distributes nutritious meals, at subsidized prices to children in public schools. According to the United Nations, Wawira and her organization served 4 million meals in the months after the pandemic struck Kenya in March 2020. Currently, she is serving over 33,000 meals per day to thousands of public school children. “I am feeding the future of Africa because I believe in a generation that is well-nourished and educated,” she told the UN. Apart from her UN award, Wawira is the first-ever Global Citizen Prize for Youth Leadership awarded at the Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100 in South Africa. She was 2nd runners up for UN Person of the Year in 2020.

Faith Chepngetich Kipyegon

Faith Kipyegon is the Olympic record holder in the women’s 1500 metres. She broke the Olympic record with a time of 3 minutes 53.11 seconds in 2021 during the 2020 Olympics Games which were held in Tokyo. Kipyegon was defending her Olympic gold which she had won in Rio Olympics Games in 2016. In 2021, Kipyegon bagged the 2021 Diamond League title. Since 2010, 27-year-old Kipyegon has won 12 of the major 19 international championship finals she has participated in.

Women to watch in 2022

Martha Karua, Anne Waiguru, and Wangui Ngirici

During the upcoming August General Elections, the biggest focus outside the presidential race will be on these three women. They are currently the leading contenders for the Kirinyaga gubernatorial seat. Ms. Ngirichi and Ms. Karua will be seeking to unseat Ms. Waiguru who is the incumbent Governor for Kirinyaga. Although Ms. Karua has been presented as a possible deputy president candidate in the presidential elections, she may set up an incredible battle for Kirinyaga governorship if she turns down offers. Ms. Karua lost to Waiguru in the 2017 General Elections. Ms. Ngirichi on the other hand is the current Woman Rep for Kirinyaga. She is widely considered financially advantaged to stage a humungous political campaign against the Governor Waiguru, who in 2018 claimed she was worth Sh. 300 million.

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