Aisha Jumwa slaps Bendera in Kaloleni in a burial clash that erupts into a national scandal after former Cabinet Secretary Aisha Jumwa allegedly struck affirmative action director Ruth Bendera during a tense funeral gathering, capping a public dressing-down where Bendera branded her a “failure for the Kilifi people”.
The roadside dust-up, captured in shaky mobile footage that’s since exploded across social media, has police scrambling for statements while Kilifi’s political pot simmers ahead of next year’s polls.
Jumwa, now Kenya Roads Board chair, faces an assault probe after Bendera lodged a formal complaint, turning a sombre send-off into a spectacle of slaps and sharp words.
The melee unfolded Saturday afternoon at the burial of a local elder in Kaloleni’s heartland, a spot where Mijikenda mourners mingle with aspiring kingpins eyeing votes.
Bendera, a rising voice in national gender equity roles, spotted Jumwa in the crowd and didn’t hold back. “You promised us roads, jobs, and hope for Kilifi but delivered nothing —you’re a total failure to our people. You have been a women’s rep, MP, and CS, among others, but nothing substantial elevated the people,” she reportedly said
Eyewitnesses, clustered under acacia shades with plastic chairs askew, say Jumwa bristled at the barb, her face flushing before she lunged forward with an open palm that connected squarely with Bendera’s cheek.
“It was quick, like a matatu swerve, but the sting echoed,” recalled a local, Mama Mboga, who filmed the tail end on her Tecno phone.
Jumwa, reached via phone from her Malindi base, dismissed it as “women’s squabble gone sideways,” insisting Bendera provoked the “heated exchange” with electioneering jabs.
“I went to bury, not fight phantoms. Kilifi knows my track record,” she shot back, her tone a mix of defiance and dismissal that only fanned the flames.
Jumwa’s 2022 CS glory faded fast with her Lands sacking amid graft whispers, but her UDA loyalty keeps her in Ruto’s orbit, chairing road boards while eyeing a gubernatorial comeback.
Bendera, appointed under the gender parity push, sees Jumwa as a symbol of elite letdowns – deals struck in Nairobi lounges that bypass Kilifi’s salt flats.
“She called me out for the people; that slap was her silence on failures,” Bendera posted on X late Saturday, with her cheek-swollen selfie.
Social feeds, ranging from TikTok dances mocking the smack to Facebook auntie rants, exhibit a divided response. Coastal youth, scrolling in Mtwapa beach bars, cheer Bendera as a truth-teller: “Finally, someone slaps back at the empty suits,” tweeted a Kilifi native.
But UDA diehards rally for Jumwa, framing it as “provoked passion” in a region where women’s spats become part of warrior lore.
For Kaloleni’s villagers, the burial’s shadow lingers like incense smoke. Elder Mary’s family, who were supposed to grieve in peace, are now receiving calls from journalists near the fresh grave.
“We came for closure, got chaos instead,” sighed son Peter, 29, a fisherman whose nets tangle with unkept pledges.
In the end, Jumwa slaps Bendera. The Kaloleni burial clash isn’t just a scuffle; it’s a snapshot of simmering coastal discontent, where ballots brew from bruises and betrayals. As the sun dips over the Indian Ocean, Kilifi watches: will this fade to folklore or flare into fiercer fights?
