When Bukusu elders said no to my political ambition

Shortly before the 2013 General Election, Janepher Chemutai Mbatiany was set to be unveiled as the running mate of Kenneth Lusaka, a frontrunner in the Bungoma County gubernatorial race. She was elated, as this opportunity aligned with her burning political ambitions.

However, her joy was short-lived.

Just as she was about to be unveiled, the Bukusu elders protested her impending naming as Lusaka's running mate.

"The elders told our candidate that he would not name a woman as running mate because in the Bukusu culture, 'a woman was not allowed to occupy a new house' (in relation to the new county)," Janepher recounts.

As a firm gender activist, she was devastated when the elders insisted that Lusaka's running mate should be a man for them to support his bid.

Lusaka won the seat, becoming Bungoma County's inaugural governor following the advent of devolution. The newly-elected county boss later gave Janepher a soft landing by appointing her as his gender advisor.

A decade later, she became the county deputy governor after Lusaka named her his deputy in the 2022 general election.

Janepher blames entrenched patriarchy for the slow pace of women's advancement in leadership and education in her community.

For years, she says, women were not supposed to be heard or assume leadership positions, explaining the low number of women currently in leadership roles in the county.

Currently, Bungoma has no female MP out of the nine constituencies, and only seven out of 45 elected female MCAs.

“Women leaders are required to go an extra mile to prove themselves. Whenever one woman fails, it is construed that all women leaders have failed, which is not the case. We never see such stereotype applied to male leaders,” she notes.

The mother of six cites lack of massive financial resources as the main reason behind women not vying for political positions. She is now rooting for budgetary allocation to women leaders to help them devise programs that empower their fellow women, including politically.

Although she is from the minority community in the county, her future gubernatorial ambitions are still alive. Janepher hopes the electorates will vote for candidates based on their offerings, not their region nor gender.

Before joining politics, she was a leading gender activist in Mount Elgon, prompted by the hardships she experienced as a young girl in the village.

She narrowly escaped female genital mutilation (FGM), which was mandatory in her Sabaot community once a girl turned ten, after which they would be married off.

“I told my parents that I would not be cut. It was a tough decision to make. My guardian almost stopped funding my education for defying my parents and culture. I, however, stood my ground,” Janepher recalls.

She started advocacy against FGM while still a student, traversing the Mount Elgon region to sensitise the community on the dangers of the cut. After college, she returned to her rural home to champion for the rights of girls and women, which led to her gender activism in the area.

“My home village is now free of FGM thanks to my advocacy. This gives me a lot of satisfaction. I am also happy when I see a number of girls I mentored doing well today,” she reveals.

The fight against FGM in the Sabaot community recently received a major boost after elders joined the fight against the vice, agreeing to partner with the government to eliminate the outlawed cultural practice.

Janepher started her education at Chemoge Primary School before later joining Kibuk Girls Secondary School both in Mt Elgon.

She later transferred to Njenga Karume High School in Molo for her O-Levels, before joining Cherangany High School in Trans Nzoia for her A-Levels.

She holds a Bachelor's degree in gender, women and development studies from Egerton University and is currently pursuing a Master's at Masinde Muliro University. She is also a pastor at the Lord is My Saviour Ministries in Mt Elgon.

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