Cheers to Kenya’s four most reputable women

Four Kenyan women have been named among 100 most reputable Africans in the continent.

Reputation Poll International, a global reputation firm has listed Martha Koome, Martha Karua, Amina Mohamed and Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg alongside President William Ruto and Patrick Njoroge, Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya.

They constitute a clique of well-thought individuals drawn from governance, entertainment, human rights, education, and business sectors.

In concluding on their names, the firm considered their integrity, visibility, and impact.

Ms Karua, Narc-Kenya party leader is a seasoned politician and staunch human rights advocate for more than three decades. She is known to be one of the most prominent women political leaders who has consistently pushed for inclusion of women in political leadership and public governance.

Running mate

Soon after Justice Koome was appointed Kenya's Chief Justice, she reached out to the then Gender Cabinet Secretary Prof Margaret Kobia to organise a luncheon in celebration of her milestone as the first woman to hold that position since Kenya’s independence in 1963.

Last year, Azimio Presidential candidate Raila Odinga selected her to be his running mate. It was the first time a strong presidential contender nominated a woman to deputise him. Mr Raila came second with 6,942,930 votes against President Ruto’s 7,176,141 votes.

CJ Koome was an appellate judge prior to her appointment to the CJ position.

In 2020, she was named the runner-up for the UN Kenya Person of the Year, a recognition that appreciated her work in advocacy for the rights of children in conflict with the law as well as child victims.

She also chaired National Council on the Administration of Justice Special Task Force on Children Matters that analysed gaps and developed policies for creation of children friendly justice system including those with special needs.

When the Judicial Service Commission interviewed her for the job in 2021, she said she braved a myriad of challenges in her 18-years of service at the Judiciary.

She, for instance, was deployed to Kitale High Court as a resident judge, a court that had not been operational for a year.

She said there was a huge backlog of successful cases and the prisons were overflowing with inmates.

“I had to look at the portfolio of the cases. I saw the prison was brimming, so I did revision for the sentences and I was able to reduce the population of the prisons by reducing the sentences,” she said.

Ms Mohamed is the immediate former Cabinet Secretary (CS) for Sports, Heritage and Culture, one of the only four ministries that the Public Service Commission report for the Fiscal Year 2021/2022 shows promoted more women than men in the year under review. She previously served as a CS in the Foreign Affairs and Education dockets.

During her reign at the Education Ministry, she ordered an audit on pregnant teenage girls in schools following a crisis of girls giving birth while sitting for their Kenya Certificate of Primary School Examination.  In 2020, she unsuccessfully bid for the post of Director-General of the World Trade Organisation.

Dr Rutenberg is the Executive-In-Residence at Schmidt Futures, where she is involved in designing and building a global initiative focused on Black women senior leaders, according to her LinkedIn profile.

She also serves as an advisor and ambassador to the Rise program and supports the Talent Engine programs at Schmidt Futures.

She has worked as the Director of the African Women in Agricultural Research and Development. She founded Akili Dada, an award-winning leadership incubator that invests in high-achieving young women from under-resourced families, who are passionate about driving change in their communities.

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