Nakuru county is currently the talk of town following the announcement of the ongoing election results. Top leadership positions in the county have been dominated by women, resulting in sheer excitement across the country. Here are the women who contested for various seats in the county and ended up being elected:
Susan Kihika- Governor
Susan Kihika won the Nakuru gubernatorial seat on a United Democratic Alliance (UDA) ticket. Kihika garnered 440,797 votes against her competitor Lee Kinyanjui who got 225,351 votes.
“I take this chance to thank my husband, Sam Mburu, who is right here today. He has really supported me, you all know I am quite a fireball so for a husband to put up with me may not be very easy.” she said.
In 2013, Kihika was elected Speaker of the Nakuru County Assembly, a position she served for five years, until 2017.
She then vied for the county’s Senatorial seat in 2017 which she won with 637,700 votes.
Kihika will now be the third governor of Nakuru County, after Kinuthia Mbugua (1st) and Lee Kinyanjui.
Tabitha Karanja- Senator
Keroche Breweries CEO Tabitha Karanja won the Nakuru Senatorial seat after she garnered 442,864 votes against her main competitor, Lawrence Karanja, who garnered163,625 votes.
“This is the first county that has elected a majority of women and we will not let down the women of Nakuru County. We will prove to the world that women can do better than what men can do.” she said
“I will represent all Nakuru people and their interests at the national level through the senate.”
Liza Chelule- Woman Representative
Liza Chelule retained her seat as Nakuru Woman Rep after she garnered 382,143 votes against her competitor Agnes Njambi who had 194,610 votes.
Charity Kathambi- Njoro MP
Njoro MP Charity Kathambi Chepkwony retained her seat as Njoro MP. Kathambi garnered 47,652 votes against competitor Joseph Kiuna who got 24,646 votes.
Kathambi assured that her focus was to continue with development agenda she had started in her first term.
“I thank the people of Njoro for giving me another chance to continue with development agenda for this cosmopolitan constituency” she said.
It will be recalled that during UDA nominations in April, she floored four male aspirants.
Ms Chepkwony, who is a first-time legislator and the first-ever woman to be elected Njoro MP, garnered 18,340 votes to beat Mr John Kaniaru (3,455), Mr Johnson Mwamba (2,933), Mr Simon Chege (425) and radio journalist Njogu wa Njoroge who had 1588 votes.
Martha Wangari- Gilgil MP
Gilgil MP Martha Wangari of UDA retained the seat after she got 35,363 votes while her close competitor Nderitu Mathenge of Jubilee managed 19,764 votes.
“Finally the results are out!!!thank you God.Thanks family and friends thanks Gilgil, I will make it count,” she posted after being declared the winner.
Irene Njoki- Bahati MP
Irene Njoki of Jubilee won the Bahati parliamentary seat by 34,308 votes against her competitor Kimani Ngunjiri who got 26,809 votes. She becomes the first woman to win an MP’s seat in the constituency since the advent of multi-party politics
“Asanteni sana watu wa Bahati for believing in change and fresh leadership. I salute all those who voted for me to guarantee our victory and I also thank all Bahati residents for keeping peace and being patient as we awaited for the results. Kazi ianze sasa.” she said
Grace Mwathi- Bahati MCA
Grace Mwathi was elected as a Member of County Assembly (MCA) in Nakuru County’s Bahati ward under United Democratic Alliance (UDA) ticket. Mwathi, who fell short at the 2017 polls where she came in third in Bahati’s MCA contest, had been serving as a nominated MCA in the Nakuru County Assembly.
Jayne Kihara- Naivasha MP
Jayne Kihara succesfully retained her set and currently stands as the longest serving female MP, this being her 5th term in the National Assembly. She garnered 44,882 votes beating her closest challenger, Mr Kihagi, who received 24,891.
“I am not here because I am the best but unfortunately we cannot be two. I know I have been insulted but we have to leave everything behind and forge forward.”- she said.
She was first elected to Parliament in 2003, soon after the death of her husband, Paul Kihara, but lost the seat in 2007 to John Mututho.
In 2013, she vied for the Senate seat but did not make much of an impact. She then decided to vie for the Naivasha seat in 2017, winning with a landslide. Now she has made it to the House for the third time despite facing stiff competition from her younger contestants.