Mbarire, Ruto face-off on gender rule ignites debate

The decision by Embu Governor Cecily Mbarire to confront President William Ruto over the absence of the two-thirds gender rule in the ten-point agenda report has triggered talk across the political landscape.

Her interjection as Ruto spoke has drawn blame from the President’s allies who argue that it was disrespectful.

Pundits have given her a pat on the back for pushing the accountability line, especially at a time when leaders from the so-called broad-based government appear constricted both in speech and action because of the looming pre-2027 pact between Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and the Orange Democratic Movement(ODM).

For starters, Mbarire’s advocacy for women inclusion in leadership and indeed the two-thirds gender rule did not begin this week. It is a struggle that, in fact horned her political career.

She was among a group of women that spearheaded the campaign, alongside her mentor, former Kibaki-era minister and Kitui Governor, Charity Ngilu.

During a joint Parliamentary Group meeting last Tuesday, Mbarire — who is also the UDA chairperson — interrupted President Ruto to demand an explanation over the fate of the two-thirds gender rule.

She requested to speak and informed the President that the Agnes Zani-led National Dialogue Committee (Nadco) report was silent on the matter.

“I’m sorry, I have to speak before you come down from the podium. Please say something about the two-thirds gender rule. It is silent in this report; even under the recommendations of the Zani committee, they are silent about the way forward. It is not there,” she said.

Ruto, however, insisted that the issue was included in the report.  “It is there, it is there. Can somebody read out the report? It is in item number one, the constitutional amendment. We cannot make such a fatal mistake,” he said.

But Mbarire pressed further, urging that a pronouncement be made for women across the country. “You know, Sir, how critical this matter is. Your pronouncement means a lot to the women of this country. It is important that this is mentioned right here and now, sir, respectfully,” she said.

President Ruto then proceeded to explain that a broad-based mediation committee is necessary to ensure consensus on proposed constitutional amendments, including the two-thirds gender rule, across both the National Assembly and the Senate.

“At least she spoke the truth unlike some of our colleagues in this House who were clapping and ululating for the President,” said ODM Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna while debating in the Senate later.

 It is that back and forth that has reignited the debate over the continued failure by successive governments to adhere to the law requirements on the two-thirds gender rule.

Although Mbarire and other women activists want affirmative action for them, governance and management, Gitile Naituli, avers that the two–thirds gender rule is not implementable in a democratic society and there is need for a rethink of the entire equality structure.

Naituli held that while confronting the Head of State was necessary, it should have been on matters such as electoral justice, abductions and economic plunder- areas that the current administration is yet to deliver on.

“Gender equality is a process that should have been allowed to come naturally such as is the case with the United States Congress. Regardless of gender, citizens are expected to elect leaders who are competent,” said Prof Naituli.

He says the framers of the Constitution should have demanded that the two-thirds rule be implemented in appointive positions and not elective ones.

Mbarire’s move was however a reflection of her decades-long advocacy for women’s leadership.

Ngilu’s historic 1997 presidential bid under the slogan “Masaa ni ya Ngilu” is credited with inspiring a new generation of women leaders, including Mbarire. During President Mwai Kibaki’s administration, Mbarire served as an Assistant Minister under Ngilu in the Water and Irrigation docket.

Both have been active members of the Council of Governors’ Women Governors Caucus and the G7 strategy, an initiative aimed at increasing the number of female governors in Kenya.

Mbarire began her advocacy for women’s leadership shortly after her nomination to Parliament alongside Julia Ojiambo, Njoki Ndung’u, Adelina Mwau, Betty Tett, Amina Abdalla and Khasaya Oniango in 2003.

At some point, the lawmakers in 2015 opted to draft their own Bill on the two-thirds gender rule, to counter similar Bills that have been tabled in the National Assembly by the Justice and Legal Affairs committee.

The Bill sought to propose an increase in the number of Woman Reps to two per county. It also recommended that political parties be compelled to nominate a specified number of women as candidates for elective seats. However, this Bill failed five times over a lack of quorum in a male-dominated house.