Martha Karua is known for being no-nonsense when it comes to speaking her mind.
The iron lady walked out on former President Daniel Arap Moi in 1997 when he visited Gichugu Constituency which she was representing then. She cited disrespect for women after she was apparently denied a chance to address the audience.
Described as the ‘only man’ in Kibaki’s government while the men were likened to flower girls by outspoken Senator Kithure Kindiki, Karua does not mince her words when it comes to defending her opinion.
She has expressed her disappointment over the Judicial Service Commission’s shortlisting candidates for the Chief Justice position and strongly defended Makau Mutua who did not make the cut saying on Twitter, “The JSC appears to have relied on extraneous considerations in refusing to shortlist prof Makau Mutua for post of CJ which is unacceptable.”
Karua is a luminary in her right having paved the way for women in law and later politics with the likes of the late Prof Wangari Maathai and Charity Ngilu.
The 58-year-old mother of two- Wawira and Njoka- was born in the rural areas of the then Kirinyaga district. Hers was a humble upbringing and after completing high school, she pursued a law degree at Nairobi University graduating with honours.
At 24, she was appointed a magistrate and served in a number of courts including Nakuru and Kibera and she was renowned for her keen and just discernment on cases.
After her magisterial position, Karua went into private practice where she took on many human rights activists cases pro bono. This was at the risk of being blacklisted and even jailed by the then dictatorial Moi government.
Karua recounts how at times fearing for her life she would sit down her two young children and explain to them how her work could lead to her disappearance.
She says, “It was a difficult thing to do, but I wanted them to be prepared in case one day, I did not come back home.”
Karua plunged into the murky waters of politics in 1992 and elected an MP for Gichugu. Despite balancing family and politics, she remains one of the most active parliamentarians in Kenya to date. She was at the forefront in the formation of the Inter-Parties Parliamentary Group (IPPG) on reforms from 1997 to 1998 which advocated and successfully attained for more democratic space to allow development of multi-parties.
As an MP, she served in two ministerial positions first as Minister of Water where she successfully rolled out water sector reforms and laid the foundation for the revival of irrigation projects. Second, she served as Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister where she oversaw key legislation on electoral, national reconciliation processes and the constitutional process.
She resigned as the Justice Minister in April 2009 over what she termed as interference from the highest office in the ministry’s pursuit of judicial reforms. Rather than compromise her values and principles she walked away from being a key member of the government she had been a part of.
Karua declared her bid to run for president in 2012 saying, “We could go so much further as a country but we first have to get our house in order and rid ourselves of the bad habits that hold us back and I am prepared to do that job.”
She lost and has now joined hands with Cord leader Raila Odinga to push for accountability. She has been with the opposition and she says she will vie again in the 2017 elections.
It had been widely speculated that she would be CJ candidate but this never materialised as she never filed an application.
Karua was implicated in a BBC report saying she received financing for her 2013 election campaign. She acknowledged receiving the money-not as a bribe but as a gift to the campaign.
The iron lady has had a spectacular career both in law and politics and time will tell if she will successfully woo Kenyans to have her as their president.