First Ogiek woman to become an officer

A family in Nakuru County is celebrating the first Ogiek woman to join the police.
As Kenyans complained about “biased” recruitment, Ms Lydia Miangare, who completed her Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) at Kapteremi Secondary School on the edges of the Mau Forest, had reason to smile after a long day of scrutiny.

SPELLS OUT RIGHTS

“I am happy to have been picked. Only a few women made it,” said an excited Ms Miangare Friday.

Njoro District Commissioner Mohammed Noor said the Constitution spells out the rights of the minority and marginalised which he said must be observed in such situations.

“It was a rare spectacle because the ethnic group has never had a female recruit,” he said.

But even as Ms Miangare celebrated her achievement, her kinsfolk in Narok — on the other side of the Mau — were complaining about what they said was bias which denied them a slot.

Human Rights Alliance chairman Elijah Sikona said observers who witnessed the selection of 13 recruits out of 35 from five divisions in Trans Mara claimed the Ogiek were locked out.

NULLIFY RESULTS

“When we pressed for answers, we were told this was a directive from ‘above’ that the slots were to be given to members of another tribe,” said the activist.

Members demanded that the recruitment results be nullified in Kilgoris and Narok South after the Ogiek failed to get a slot.

Spokesperson Sophy Tanki and Ogiek Council of Elders deputy chairman Memusi Ngosila, said all candidates from their ethnic group living around the Mau Forest were rejected.

BOYCOTT ELECTIONS

“Again the government has shown us that we only count during elections but when employment opportunities come, we are ignored. We will boycott future elections if our plea for a slot is not addressed,’ said Ms Tanki.

Narok County Assembly Minority Leader Bob Maren backed their claims, saying the rights of minority groups were not considered in the recruitment.