President Uhuru Kenyatta with other Jubilee leaders campaigning in Bungoma on August 1. [Photo/PSCU]
Women from the vote-rich Tharaka Nithi, Meru and Embu Counties today vowed to vote as a block for President Uhuru Kenyatta.
They said the three counties remain a “Jubilee stronghold” whose votes will be pooled together for President Kenyatta.
The women spoke at Moi Stadium, Embu during the 11th empowerment meeting convened by Maendeleo Ya Wanawake Organization (MYWO) and addressed by the First Lady Margaret Kenyatta.
The three MYWO County chairpersons from the three counties led their supporters in assuring the First Lady that they will ensure she remains at State House for another five years by voting for President Kenyatta.
“We have never had another caring First Lady like you. We are not ready to let you go as yet. You must remain at State House. We shall vote as a block for President Kenyatta ”, said MYWO Meru County chairperson Mary Kanana.
Her counterparts from Embu and Tharaka Nithi Mary Kavinda and Asenta Kiriga respectively expressed similar sentiments saying they will throw a major surprise for NASA leaders on the voting day.
The women leaders promised that in the remaining few days, they will talk to their sons (the youth) who are yet to make their minds on whether to support President Kenyatta’s re-election or not.
“They are our sons. We shall make sure they are converted to support Jubilee”, said Ms Kiriga.
As the women made the pledge, Gender and Youth Affairs Cabinet Secretary Mrs Sicily Kariuki who also comes from Embu said it is the women who will finally determine who wins the coming elections because they constitute slightly over 50 per cent of the voters .
“We (the women) are the people who will determine how the election goes”, said Mrs Kariuki
MYWO national chairperson Mrs Rahab Mwikali appealed to her members and all women in general to avoid the mistake of 2007 where the disputed elections nearly drove the country into a total breakdown and anarchy .
“We cannot make the mistake of 2007. We must vote for President Kenyatta”, said the MYWO boss.
When she spoke, the First Lady said only the re-election of President Kenyatta can assure the country moves forward to a future of hope, opportunity and transformation.
She said women have the power to make defining decisions through their votes.
“Fellow women, you have the power to make your vote count. Let us commit to take action that will make the difference to your lives, to the lives of your children, your county and your country”, she appealed to the women as she drummed up support for President Kenyatta’s re-election.
She applauded the women seeking elective political positions saying their bold decision uplifts the hope for more girls to seek leadership positions.
The elevation of more women to positions of power through a competitive process, she said , sends a strong message to the girls that leadership in any role is available to them through collective action.
“You lift hope for our girls that leadership in any role is available to us through collective action”, the First Lady told women aspirants from the three counties.
Today’s event, the 11meeting the First Lady has addressed in recent weeks, brings to 38 the number of Counties she has so far covered with her message of women empowerment.
She has addressed thousands of women voters from the counties of Kitui ( Kibwezi and Makueni ) ,Kajiado, Isiolo, Samburu (and Marsabit), Nakuru (12 Counties), Homabay , Kisii, Nyamira, Kwale ( 6 counties of the coast region) and the four counties of Western Kenya.
In all the meetings, majority of the women have been supportive of President Kenyatta’s re-election bid citing the momentous and unrivalled development that has been witnessed across all the counties in the last four year’s under the Jubilee Government.
The First Lady thanked the women from the three counties for embracing the Beyond Zero Initiative whose huge success she attributed to the support of President Kenyatta.
“Uhuru Kenyatta has been with us and that is why today we can celebrate free maternity, free care for mothers and babies for one year through NHIF in every public health centre”, said the First Lady enumerating the many health benefits women currently enjoy under the Jubilee Government.
She asked women in the region to ensure their children are retained in school to secure their futures under the free education program the Jubilee Government kicks off in January.
She described President Kenyatta’s Government as the most attentive and responsive to the challenges facing Kenyans.
She promised the women that, in collaboration with the MYWO, she will assist the women exploit the opportunities offered by the Women Enterprise Fund (WEF) and other women-specific programs, once President Kenyatta is voted back to office.
Besides the WEF, said the First Lady, young men and women can also access loans from the Youth Fund to start their businesses in order to participate in the country’s development.