Kimilili MP Hon. Didmus Barasa on the third gender rule. PHOTO | NMG |
The third gender rule heats another debate of how it will be implemented. It was discovered that majority of the seats both National assembly and County assemblies are given to “Slayqueens”, girlfriends, and even relatives.
Borabu Mp Ben Momanyi wants the seats to be scrapped and the gender rule is left on Kenyans to decide. “If Kenyans decide its women to rule the country then Men will be contented,” he said.
“We need to sober up because I don’t see a village woman coming for nomination to fill the gender rule. I don’t see how people in the rural areas benefit from this third gender rule. It has been there since we enacted the new constitution and the same trend of girlfriends, Mistresses, Slayqueens in the nominations has been flourishing.” Kimili MP Didmus Barasa said.
Others have questioned how nominations of candidates would be conducted, suggesting that politician’s wives, girlfriends and mistresses would be given seats by proxy.
” I ask my fellow MPs to reject this Bill as it is because it does not give an opportunity for the rural woman to choose who will represent them in Parliament. It instead grants political parties’ leadership powers to bring slay queens through nominations,” Kimilili MP Didmus Barasa said as reported in a local daily.
“We have seen people nominating their girlfriends. It is true we need women in active political leadership but they must be women of substance. I want to tell the Majority leader that this Bill is dead on arrival,” he added.
The Mp revealed that the county assembly gender rule has made things worse by letting governors, MCAs choose girlfriends and Slayqueens as nominated MCAs only to fill the third gender rule.