On Thursday, President William Ruto reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring that the two-thirds gender rule is fully applied within his United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party and the Kenya Kwanza government.
Ruto stated that his government has pursued radical strategies to actualize the gender inclusion threshold of the constitution and will lead by example in showcasing his pledge during the Women Governors Caucus G7 Strategy launch in Nairobi.
As a result, he gave Cecily Mbarire, the chairperson of the UDA party, the task of creating new legislation mandating that a male presidential candidate have a female running mate and vice versa.
"When Riggy G (DP Rigathi Gachagua) and myself agree on how things will go in the future we must also agree that going forward if a man is a candidate for president the woman must be a running mate and if a woman is a candidate then a man should be the running mate," Ruto said amid a cheering crowd.
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He continued: "We must be deliberate and intentional about it otherwise it will never happen." According to Ruto, all party leadership positions and governors must undergo the same training.
He expressed optimism that other party leaders will receive the plan to implement the 2/3 gender rule fully. "We will do this not because we want to do anything against men but we want to balance so that we move together," he stated.
The Head of State praised women for their dependability in carrying out their mandates, recounting how, ever since he was Deputy President, women have consistently supported him without reservation.
"When I ran into political turbulence as deputy president, more women stood by me than men in my team. And that is a fact. In the last election, more women voted for me than men," he said.
"Therefore supporting me is the easiest thing for me. Apart from the fact that in my family I have more women family members than men."
He also urged men to take the lead in defending women against female genital mutilation (FGM), especially in areas where the vice is common.
The G7 is a caucus comprising Kenya's seven elected female governors.
They are Wavinya Ndeti (Machakos), Fatuma Achani (Kwale), Ann Waiguru (Kirinyaga), who also serves as chair of the Council of Governors, Susan Kihika (Nakuru), Kawira Mwangaza (Meru), and Cecily Mbarire (Embu).
The caucus aims to empower and assist women leaders in order to demonstrate effective, transformative, and strategic governance within the devolved structures.
This is before Friday, March 8, International Women's Day celebrations.
