POWERFUL WOMEN AROUND UHURU

PRESIDENT Uhuru Kenyatta's
administration is distinctly different from
his predecessors in that while their
closest advisors were mainly men, several
women have come up in the new regime
who have the ear of the presidency.
Some of these women not only called the
shots during the elections campaigns but
are closely involved in the almost daily
running of the government and meet
with the president on a daily basis.
Sources say that the President consults
widely with them not only on matters
gender and youth matters but also other
areas of concern which have previously
been the preserve of the predominately
male kitchen cabinets of his
predecessors.
At home, First Lady Margaret Kenyatta is
said to wield some influence on her
husband as does his mother Mama Ngina
Kenyatta who, since his political debut in
the late 90s, played an integral role from
behind the scenes to propel her son to
the highest office in the land.
On political matters, Uhuru has long-
serving State House political adviser
Nancy Gitau who, while averse to
publicity since she started working there
under the last regime, is considered a
formidable strategist who holds a lot of
sway within the government.
Indeed, some of the State House insiders
say the media-shy Gitau is one of the
"most powerful person" around the
presidency. But she seems oblivious to
this as others describe her as a "motherly
figure who is always nice to everyone and
wants everyone around her to be
comfortable."
They say she is very 'protective' of the
presidency and is very 'passionate' against
the ICC as revealed during a recent
interview with the Standard newspaper.
Gitau, who has worked at State House for
the last six years was the team leader in
USAID's democracy and governance
sector where she worked for 17 years
prior to joining the government. Prior to
that she had worked with Undugu society.
Away from State House, Uhuru counts on
the counsel of Lands Secretary Charity
Ngilu, Taveta MP Naomi Shabaan, her
Runyenjes counterpart Cecile Mbarire and
nominated MP Amina Abdallah.
Ngilu was among the Jubilee luminaries
and was rewarded with a Cabinet position
after she lost in the race for the Kitui
senate. Shabaab and Amina go back a
long way with Uhuru since he became
leader of the independence party Kanu on
whose ticket he lost the 2002 elections.
The two were instrumental in mobilizing
support for Uhuru's The National Alliance
party.
Amina has served two terms in
Parliament as a Kanu nominee and was
rewarded for her loyalty with yet another
nomination by TNA after the last
elections.
Shabaan's influence is seen in the recent
issuance of title deeds to residents at the
Coast and the donation of some land
owned by the Kenyatta family to
squatters in Taveta.
On policy matters, Uhuru counts on
Devolution Secretary Ann Waiguru, her
Foreign Affairs counterpart Amina
Mohammed and deputy head of mission
to Somalia Yvonne Khamati.
"Uhuru has trusted Waiguru since his days
as the Minister for Finance. She was
instrumental in major reforms at the
Treasury and it did not surprise many
when she landed one of the most
powerful dockets in his government," a
government insider said.
Waiguru is held in such high esteem by
the presidency that talk within political
circles say that she might be considered
to take up the powerful Interior Affairs
and National Coordination docket when
the Cabinet is restructured.
Amina and Khamati have been involved in
the shuttle diplomacy to try and build up
support in the continent for Uhuru and
Ruto as they seek to defer, delay or
transfer their ICC cases.
Their lobbying seems to have been
successful as 40 out of 49 countries
recently presented a petition to the
United Nations Security Council seeking
to have the cases against the two
deferred.
Amina has made a strong representation
both locally and internationally defending
Uhuru's position that Kenya's sovereignty
has to be respected and foreign relations
must be based on mutual respect.
THE star

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