Print Media Monitoring Report of Electoral Violence

Gender Monitoring of Electoral Violence Targeting Women - Print Media Monitoring Report (December 2012 – March 2013) i

Electoral Violence Targeting Women

Aspirants in the 2013 General Elections

in Kenya

Print Media Monitoring Report

Final Report

December 1st 2012 – March 10th 2013

Submitted to

African Woman & Child Feature Service

by

Paul Kiage

Gender Monitoring of Electoral Violence Targeting Women - Print Media Monitoring Report (December 2012 – March 2013) ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ II

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- III

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4

1 SECTION ONE: INTRODUCTION -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7

1.1 BACKGROUND INFORMATION ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7

1.2 PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7

1.3 PRINT MEDIA MONITORING OBJECTIVES --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7

1.4 STUDY METHODOLOGY ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8

1.4.1 Survey Design -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8

1.4.2 Data Processing and Analysis ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 9

1.4.3 Space Allocated by the Print Media in Covering Violence Targeting Women --------------------------------- 10

1.4.4 Violence Against Women by Elective Post ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 10

1.4.5 Print Media Coverage of Women Candidate and Electoral Violence -------------------------------------------- 11

2 SECTION THREE: TIMING AND FORMS OF ELECTORAL VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ------------------------------- 12

2.1 PERPETRATORS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13

2.2 TRIGGERS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13

3 SECTION FOUR: BARRIERS WOMEN CANDIDATES FACED ------------------------------------------------------------------- 14

3.1 BARRIERS WOMEN CANDIDATES FACED IN THE 2013 ELECTIONS ---------------------------------------------------------------- 14

4 SECTION FIVE: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS -------------------------------------------------------------------- 19

4.1 CONCLUSION -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19

4.2 RECOMMENDATIONS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19

Gender Monitoring of Electoral Violence Targeting Women - Print Media Monitoring Report (December 2012 – March 2013) iii

Acknowledgements

The print media monitoring of hate speech and violence related episodes was undertaken by a

team of independent social researchers with experience in print media monitoring. The

consulting team wishes to express their sincere gratitude to the Executive Director, African

Woman and Child Feature Service Arthur Okwemba for his guidance during the review period.

We are also grateful to Ruth Omukhango for successfully managing the administrative

processes and logistics components of this assignment.

Finally, we would like to thank the UN Women for providing the resources that made this

research possible.

Gender Monitoring of Electoral Violence Targeting Women - Print Media Monitoring Report (December 2012 – March 2013) 4

Executive Summary

This report provides the findings of the print media monitoring of electoral violence directed at women candidates who aspired for the various elective seats in the run-up to March 4th 2012 General Elections in Kenya. This report is part of the research work undertaken by the African Woman and Child Feature Service (AWC), one of the CSOs that implemented the UN Women Project. The project worked with key stakeholders including the public, the media, women, the general voters, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, political parties, law enforcement agencies, and County governance structures to enhance a peaceful election and the culture of tolerance through the strengthening and capacity building of networks at community, regional, national and the global level. The overall objective of the print media monitoring of gender and electoral related violence was to capture and report how the mainstream media reported women candidates and captured gender related issues including electoral related violence targeting women candidates who vied for elective posts and participated in the various stages of the electoral process leading to March 4th General Elections in Kenya. The report presents a comprehensive analysis of the print media reporting of electoral related violence in particular those targeting women who ran for various elective positions in the 2 general elections. The reporting period runs from 1st December – 10th March 2013. The print mainstream media monitored were The Daily Nation, The Standard, The People and The Star. The purpose of this report was to highlight and document the types of violence faced by women candidates for the various elective positions in 2013 general elections. The report has captured qualitative as well as quantity aspects of electoral violence captured in the newspapers. Further, the monitoring is intended to provide information on media’s performance during and after the elections period; and will also contribute to the overall assessment of fairness in the management and conduct of the electoral process in Kenya. Additionally, media monitoring serves as feedback to the media outlets themselves on their work, which may enhance their reporting skills to eliminate biasness in the coverage of the political actors involved in the process. The gender monitoring of elections and political coverage was based on both quantitative and qualitative analytical approaches aimed at observing and assessing the extent to which media provided fair and balanced coverage of politicians and political parties in relation to level of access for those contesting for political positions to the media, the tone of the electoral process and reporting in Kenya. The key findings during the period under review are summarized below: Electoral Violence by Political Post and Party

Women seeking political leadership, irrespective of the position (from Presidency Senatorial, Gubernatorial, Parliamentary, Women Representative and County representatives) face political violence. Most affected were those contested for the post of Member of Parliament, MP at 37.2% followed by Gubernatorial (20.9%), Senatorial (19.8%), County Representatives (9.4%) and Women representatives (8.1%), Presidential (4.7%).

All women across the major political alliances and parties that participated in the electoral processes faced numerous political challenges. Women aspirants on Jubilee Alliance (48.6%) and Cord Coalition (34.7%) faced the greatest violence in their efforts to be elected for the various seats. In third place were women who ran under the small parties (9.7%) followed by the Amani Coalition candidates (5.6%) and Nark Kenya (1.4%).


Coverage of Electoral Violence by the Media:

Electoral violence remains a big challenge in Kenya’s electoral processes and a hindrance to the participation of women and the attainment of gender equality.

Different media houses were found to have their own editorial policy on coverage of electoral related challenges that faced women in the run-up to 2013 general elections. Of the mainstream print media monitored, The Star dedicated the largest space in covering violence related news targeting women with a space of 29,361 cm

2

(32%) followed by The Daily Nation 24,498 cm2 (26.7%), The People 22,663 cm

2

(24.7%) and the Standard 15,231 cm2 (16.6%).

Cross analysis by newspapers indicate that Daily Nation and The People covered most of electoral violence targeting Jubilee women candidates (43.4%) and (40.1%) respectively while Cord Coalition women candidates were mainly covered by the Standard (36.7%) and People (39.1%). Amani Coalition were mostly covered by the Standard (11.7%) compared to the People (9.4%) and Daily Nation (5.6%).

A prominent feature of the articles on electoral violence targeting women was that such stories are mostly (96%) hidden in the inner pages of the newspapers with only 2.7% of such news captured on the headlines and 1.3% in the back pages.

The Forms and Timing of Electoral Violence Targeting Women

The assessment reveals that violence targeting women candidates mainly occurred during the party nomination stage (42.2%) which took place in second half of January 2013 followed by the period of actual campaigns (33.7%), registration of voters by the electoral body (22.9%) and on the Election Day (1.2%).

The more pronounced forms of violence directed at women candidates during the 2013 electioneering were mainly in the form of intimidation (51.7%), propaganda (20.3%) and physical assault (11%). Other forms of violence experienced by women aspirants included threats (4.2%), destruction of property (4.2%), abductions (4.2%) and verbal abuse / use of derogatory language which demean women status (1.6%).

Perpetrators of Electoral Violence against Women

Violence against women candidates were quite prevalent during the party

nominations held January 2013. The main perpetrators of violence against women

aspirants were members of their own political alliances (38.5%), their political

competitors (22%), organized / mobilized gangs (19.8%), election officials (16.5%)

and security officials / police (3.3%).

Triggers of Electoral Violence

Electoral violence against women candidates occurred mainly after the political rallies where

(36.9%) of women aspirants were reported attacked or during the declaration of results

(27.7%). Similar percentages (27.7%) of women were reported attacked by male opponents

who on sensing danger of losing would unleash violence to intimidate women. The

announcement of results (4.6%) is yet another trigger for violence and balloting / voting

(3.1%) against women candidates seeking political leadership in Kenya.


Key Impediments to Women Participation in the Political Process

The main barriers that hindered the participation of women in the 2013 general elections included: lack of party support (42.4%), negative cultural beliefs /

restrictions (25.8%), lack of political support from party leaders due to their lack of a history in party patronage (16.7%) and lack of financial resources / poverty (10.6%).

Content Analysis

The editorial line of each media outlet displayed a clear polarization in coverage based on individual women aspirants’ political leaning.

Print media were more diverse in their coverage of women candidates with aspirants across all the political parties / alliances receiving covering as highlighted in the individual candidates experiences.

Political Party Nominations to the Senate and National Assembly

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) recently gazetted the names of the nominees, 20 to the Senate and 12 to sit in the National Assembly. Of the numbers nominated 65.6% of the nominations went to women, an indication that women were the major beneficiaries.

Recommendations

Print media needs to provide equal coverage opportunities to women aspirants /

candidates at all stages of the electoral processes.

The media needs to provide a platform to articulate issues affecting women in politics

The political parties and the electoral body must come up with strict electoral code of

conduct and punitive legislation to curb electoral violence against women.

Media houses to conduct tailored training for media professionals (journalists) and editors focusing on electoral news coverage and the need for impartiality and exposing electoral violence and other malpractices targeting women.

The political parties and the electoral body need to conduct civic education to help curb electoral violence and voter apathy against women aspirants.

Lobby for enforcement for Bill of Rights Article 27(3) on the two-thirds principle to achieve gender equality in leadership.

Women lobby organizations to support women aspirants financially during the political parties’ preliminary nominations and election campaigns.

Sensitize cultural elders across all the communities in Kenya to give equal opportunities to women in leadership.

Women MPs should partner with local and national women’s civil society organizations to share ideas on women’s issues and monitor implementation of constitutional provisions supporting women

The Gender Commission to facilitate training of governors, senators and male MPs to ensure an understanding of why gender mainstreaming is critical for development.


1 SECTION ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background Information

The Gender and Governance Project had a special focus on areas often viewed as hotspots and where women’s participation in an electoral process have been curtailed and excluded.

The project, is being implemented by various CSOs, and works with key stakeholders including the public, the media, women, the general voters, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, political parties, law enforcement agencies, and County governance structures to enhance a peaceful election and the culture of tolerance through the strengthening and capacity building of networks at community, regional, national and the global level.

The overall objective for the project is to promote peaceful, fair and democratic electoral process in Kenya by fostering a culture of peace, entrenching broad political participation by women and advocating for acceptance of diversity.

1.2 Purpose of the Assignment

The March 4th 2013 general election was not only critical in Kenya’s history but also promised to be momentous for women’s political representation. It held the promise of raising women’s representation to the regional standards where countries like Rwanda, Tanzanian and Uganda have seen above 30 per cent gender representation. The situation in Kenya is different, women have been sidelined in politics since independence. This is despite their numerical strength of constituting 51% of the Kenya’s population. Their poor representation was apparent in all the political parties, which confined them to low keyed political offices despite have the affirmative action as defined by the New Constitution enacted in 2010. The patriarchal society in which Kenyan women operate ensures male domination of political and public life. As a result, women have not had equal opportunities to contribute to the society, especially as key decision makers or political leaders. In some communities, for example, the Maasai (read elsewhere in this report), it is a taboo for a woman to compete with men and as such, male politicians do not face competition for electoral positions.

Project Description:

The print media monitoring aimed at assessing the electoral related violence women aspirants faced in the run-up to the 2013 in Kenya covering the critical stages of an election: registration, nominations, campaigns, polling, counting of votes and announcement of results.

1.3 Print Media Monitoring Objectives

The objectives of the media monitoring are:

(i) To assess the types of gender based / electoral related violence reported in the print media against women who vied in the 2013 general elections;

(ii) Document women experiences with nominations, campaigns, polling, counting and announcement of election results

(iii) Establish the general forms / types of violence women candidates faced; (iv) Who were the main perpetrators of violence targeting women candidates; (v) What were the triggers and main perpetrators as reported in the media at different

stages of the elections; (vi) What were the concerns and challenges reported by the women candidates; (vii) Establish the type of language used by the print media in reporting violence targeting


women.

1.4 Study Methodology

The media monitoring involved evaluation of the content of what was reported by the mainstream print media outlets. The study used both qualitative and quantitative information sources. Both sets of the information are highly relevant to a comprehensive analysis of print media reporting of violence targeting women leaders seeking elective positions. Qualitative Data

The qualitative monitoring is used to evaluate the effectiveness of the work of the print

media in relation to such indicators, such as ethical and professional standards which

are hard to measure. In the qualitative data, the main elements considered are context

and tone. The first of these, context, refers to the way the story is framed. The second

criterion, tone, refers to the overt facts and tone of the story. The combinations of these

two elements were used to determine whether the overall coverage granted by a print

media outlet on the topical issue on women were negative, positive or neutral. The

qualitative component also looked at explicit judgements, manipulative use of pictures,

the choice of words and the basic professional standards. In determining the tone, a

great deal of attention was attached to taking a context into account. The tone was

positive, if the subject was presented positively in articles in the article and context was

also positive. If both factors are negative, the coverage was considered as negative.

Furthermore, when both indicators are neutral, the monitor defined the tone as neutral.

When these two indicators are different, the monitor had to determine which factors in

the article was prevailing – the content or the context and taking the matter into account,

s/he determines the subject’s tone.

The researchers / monitors had to assess all abusive or violent related expressions that

contributed to strengthening the attacks a person / group on the basis of tribe, gender or

sexual orientation.

Quantitative Data

The quantitative component determined the quantitative indicators, which are possible to

count and analyse. On the quantitative research, the monitors assessed the space

apportioned to violence targeting women: a political party or leader is mentioned,

spoken of, quoted or appears in a particular newspaper and is engaged in courting

violence during the political rally, press briefings as covered by the mainstream

newspapers.

1.4.1 Survey Design

The print media monitoring exercise was designed to collect all the relevant information from

the four mainstream newspapers: Daily Nation, The Standard, and The People and The Star

between 1st December 2012 to the 10th March 2013.


1.4.2 Data Processing and Analysis

The data collected from newspapers formed the critical pillars of the print media monitoring

exercise. As a matter of procedure, initial data extraction was done by trained Research

Assistants who had been trained on the data capture from the print reporting / newspapers.

All questionnaires were processed through initial coding of open-ended questions.

Thereafter, the data was captured using an Excel spread sheet. All the collected data were

double entered to ensure quality and to enhance accuracy. Erroneous entries and potential

outliers were then verified and corrected appropriately. Two data entry clerks were engaged

during the exercise.

The captured data were then exported to Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS)

version 20 for cleaning and analysis. The cleaned data was then analyzed based on

frequency runs and cross-tabulations which assisted in comparing grouped data

characteristics, and political related variables. The qualitative data were captured and

analyzed using content analysis.

Quantitative analysis implied the selection of elements of the media output content that could

be counted and focused on space allocated to women aspirants. Each mention of the

women candidate and violence was logged separately and the amount of space allocated

was then measured. Each mention was also classified in terms of tone in which women

candidates were described according to values positive, neutral and negative.

The qualitative analysis was based on the systematic observation of specific themes and

issues: women candidates / leaders, acts of violence reported, type of violence (intimidation,

killing, threats, arson, verbal abuse / derogatory language etc), placement of the story,

summary of the issues discussed, level of accuracy, fairness, slanting of the story, and

attitudes of the graphics / pictures used amongst other variables.

The monitoring of violence against women – also assessed how the media acted as agents

of pacification or rather contributed to increase any potential tensions related to electoral

violence against women. This exercise assessment was able to observe: whether the media

themselves promoted violence, who were the main instigators of violence on women etc.


SECTION TWO: THE PRINT MEDIA COVERAGE OF VIOLENCE

1.4.3 Space Allocated by the Print Media in Covering Violence Targeting

Women

This report provides summary of violence related news captured in the print media from 1

st December 2012 to 10

th March 2013. The targeted women were seeking Presidential,

Senatorial, Gubernatorial, Parliamentary, Women Representative and County representative elective posts. In the assessment, the research assistants measured all the spaces allocated to women aspirants and in particular those who faced violence at different stages of elections namely: nominations, campaigns, polling, counting and

announcement of election results. The result of the assessment indicates that The Star dedicated the largest space in covering violence related news targeting women with a space of 29,361 cm

2 (32%) followed by The Daily Nation 24,498 cm

2 (26.7%), The

People 22,663 cm2 (24.7%) and the Standard 15,231 cm

2 (16.6%) and as captured in

figure 1 below.

Table 1: Space Allocated to Violence Against Women in the Print Media 1st

Dec 2012 to 10th

March 2013

1.4.4 Violence Against Women by Elective Post

The violence targeting women were analyzed by elective post being sought in the run up to 4

th March 2013 general elections. The results of the assessment indicate that most

women who experienced violence were those who were aspiring for the post of Member of Parliament, MP at 37.2% followed by Gubernatorial (20.9%), Senatorial (19.8%), County Representatives (9.4%), Women representatives (8.1%), Presidential (4.7%).


1.4.5 Print Media Coverage of Women Candidate and Electoral Violence

The print media analysis reveals that violence against women and party sponsorship were covered differently by mainstream print media in Kenya. The analysis also reveals women candidates who were sponsored by two key political alliances that participated in the 2013 elections, namely Jubilee Alliance (48.6%) and Cord Coalition (34.7%) also faced the greatest violence in their effort to be elected for the various seats. In third place were women who ran under the small parties (9.7%) followed by the Amani Coalition candidates (5.6%) and Nark Kenya (1.4%). Cross analysis by newspapers indicate that Daily Nation and The People covered most of electoral violence targeting Jubilee women candidates (43.4%) and (40.1%) respectively while Cord Coalition women candidates were mainly covered by the Standard (36.7%) and People (39.1%). Amani Coalition were mostly covered by the Standard (11.7%) compared to the People (9.4%) and Daily Nation (5.6%).


2 SECTION THREE: TIMING AND FORMS OF ELECTORAL

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

Women are more vulnerable to violence and insecurity usually perpetrated by gangs of hired youthful men as women are not sufficiently organized or armed to defend themselves. The print media monitoring assessed the forms of violence that were used against female candidates at different stages of electoral processes. The assessment reveals that violence targeting women candidates mainly occurred during the party nomination stage (42.2%) which took place in second half of January 2013 followed by the campaigns (33.7%), registration of voters by the electoral body (22.9%) and on the Election Day (1.2%).

The more pronounced forms of violence directed at women candidates during the 2013 electioneering were mainly in the form of intimidation (51.7%), propaganda (20.3%) and physical assault (11%). Other forms of violence experienced by women aspirants included threats (4.2%), destruction of property (4.2%), abductions (4.2%) and verbal abuse / use of derogatory language which demean women status (1.6%).


2.1 Perpetrators of Violence against Women

Violence against women candidates were quite prevalent in the month of December

2012 and January 2013 when the women aspirants hit the road soliciting for votes. The

main perpetrators of violence against women aspirants were members of their own

political alliances (38.5%), their political competitors (22%), organized / mobilized gangs

(19.8%), election officials (16.5%) and security officials / police (3.3%).

2.2 Triggers of Violence against Women

The main triggers of violence against women as reported in the print media were mainly after

the political rallies where (36.9%) of women aspirants were reported attacked or during the

declaration of results (27.7%). Similar percentages (27.7%) of women were reported

attacked by male opponents who on sensing danger of losing would unleash violence to

intimidate women. The announcement of results (4.6%) is yet another trigger for violence

and balloting / voting (3.1%) against women candidates seeking political leadership in

Kenya.


3 SECTION FOUR: BARRIERS WOMEN CANDIDATES FACED

3.1 Barriers Women Candidates Faced in the 2013 Elections

The print media monitoring report also highlights the barriers women politicians faced in their quest for political leadership in the 2013 general elections. This section of the report highlights some of the deeply held cultural stereotypes and prejudices women faced within their own communities or their male competitors.

Table 2: Sampled Cases of Women Candidates in 2013 and Barriers Faced – Individual

Experiences

Name Constituency

Political

Party/

Alliance

Summary of barriers faced by women candidates

Mary Wambui Othaya TNA Her bid for the Othaya parliamentary seat was full of

challenges. Early in her bid, she had to tussle with a

case in the High Court challenging her eligibility to vie

for the seat on grounds of integrity and academic

qualifications. She had to contend with powerful forces

in government and the association of business people

of Othaya who openly declared their support for her

rival Gichuki Mugambi. One such supporters of her

opponent remarked “We cannot withstand the image of

a dismally educated woman succeeding Makerere and

London School of Economics trained Kibaki in a

generally prosperous constituency was alot that they

could not tolerate by any right thinking elite from

Othaya” She also had to bear humiliation from the

President’s security personnel and GSU officers in her

constituency during the opening of several CDF

projects. Despite winning in the party primaries, the

certificate was granted to her opponent, Gichuki

Mugambi. It was only after several protests by Othaya

residents and the storming of the IEBC offices by

women aspirants that she was granted a certificate.

She eventually won the Othaya parliamentary seat in

the general elections trouncing all her opponents to

succeed the President who has represented the

constituency for nearly four decades.

Peris

PesiTobiko

Kajiado East TNA When Peris Pesi Tobiko announced she was vying for

the Kajiado East seat, the Maasai elders saw this as an

affront to tradition that barres women from occupying

top leadership positions among the Maasai. She was

denied the opportunity to contest on an ODM party

ticket, reason being that a female candidate would not

sell in the region. Her bid suffered a major blow when

elders from her Maasai community conspired against

her and threatened to curse her and all those who

would vote for her. She was, however, not disturbed as


Name Constituency

Political

Party/

Alliance


she was counting on the support of the youth and

people living in the cosmopolitan regions of the

constituency. Clerics from several churches in the

constituency came to her aid condemning the move by

the elders and reassuring the public. She finally won

the Kajiado East parliamentary seat in the general

election to become the first Maasai woman to be

elected to a political office on TNA ticket.

Millie

Odhiambo

Mbita ODM She fought against deep seated cultural prejudice and

male chauvinism to clinch the Mbita constituency seat

and to become the only woman MP elect in Nyanza

province. The struggle was greatest during the party

primaries / nominations when she had to battle it out for

the ODM ticket with male opponents who are normally

given prominence in the society. Derogatory terms such

as Migogo were used to depict her as an outsider –

married elsewhere who should not be voted for.

Esther Murugi Nyeri Town TNA She made history when she was elected for a second

term in parliament contrary to common practice in the

constituency where MP’s just serve for a single term.

Mary Emase Teso North TNA She rode on the URP wave in Rift Valley to historically

capture the Teso North seat at first attempt.

Naomi Shaban Taveta TNA She had an edge over all her rivals in the race for the

Taveta parliamentary seat until the controversial land

issue became the subject of campaigns in the region.

She fought against strong opposition to retain her seat

on a TNA ticket.

Hellen Sambili Rift Valley TNA Party officials from other coalitions urged voters to

reject her as William Ruto appealed with voters to vote

six piece which in effect would lock her out. She went

against the strong URP wave in Rift Valley to retain her

Mogotio seat on a KANU ticket. She repeated the same

stunt she had pulled in 2007 when with a UDM ticket

she went against the ODM wave in rift valley to clinch

the Mogotio parliamentary seat.

Prof. Shanyisa

Khasiani

Kakamega ODM She refused to be intimidated by her party to step down

for Cyrus Jirongo of the Federal party because he was

a stronger candidate. Her senatorial bid was further

frustrated when her party openly declared support for

Cyrus Jirongo and a party functionary even went on

radio to announce that she had stepped aside for

Jirongo. Both Khaisani and Jirongo were trounced by

Dr. Khalwale of the Amani coalition.

Wavinya Ndeti Machakos CCC In 2007 she went against the ODM-Kenya wave in

Ukambani to clinch the Kathiani seat on a CCU ticket.


Name Constituency

Political

Party/

Alliance


She however lost her bid for governor in the just

oncluded general election to Alferd Mutua who was

running on a Wiper ticket.

Margaret

Kamar

Uasin Gishu ODM She remained loyal to ODM despite a strong opposition

in the region following the fallout between Prime

Minister Raila Odinga and URP leader William Ruto.

Kamar contested for the Uasin Gishu County

gubernatorial post but could not prevail against the

strong URP wave. She was floored by a new comer

Jackson Mandago

Sally Kosgei Nandi ODM She remained loyal to ODM despite the URP wave.

She lost her seat to a new political entrant Cornelly

Serem courtesy of the strong URP wave that swept

through the region.

Jebii Kilimo Marakwet TNA She had managed to go against popular belief in the

last two general elections to win on Narc ticket in 2002

and on a Kenda ticket in 2007. Before the elections she

had threatened to sue URP for allegedly transferring

her name and that of her supporters from TNA to URP.

she was however beaten by a new entrant, Bowen

Kannyogo

Charity Ngilu Kitui Narc Ngilu has twice prevailed against popular party waves.

In 1992 she vied on a DP ticket and won and in 2007

survived the ODM-Kenya onslaught to retain her seat

on a Narc ticket. She suffered a great loss when her

campaign poster was defaced and replaced with that of

her opponent. She lost the Kitui county senator bid to

WDM-K's David Musila.

Martha Karua Kenya Narc-

Kenya

She was the only woman vying for the Presidency in

the 2013 general election, coming in as the third

woman in Kenyan history to ever contest presidency

after the late Nobel laureate Prof. Wangari Maathai and

Charity Ngilu. Nicknamed the iron lady of Kenyan

politics, she refused to form an alliance and instead

opted to go it alone despite the departure of some high

profile members of her party such as Danson

Mungatana. A principled woman politician, Karua stuck

out many odds: she faced violence in the campaign

trail; notably in Korogocho slums where she was

heckled by rowdy youth demanding cash handout. She

also had to carry the heavy burden of her past actions

while still in government. She exonerated herself of all

blame but with much difficulty. She was in the front row

in calling for peace and for integrity even declaring her

wealth and challenging her opponents to do likewise.

She also called on citizens to elect leaders based on


Name Constituency

Political

Party/

Alliance


issues and to look at their track records while in

government. Karua failed to entice women who are the

majority (51%) to rally behind her presidential bid. She

performed dismally in the presidential race despite

being the only woman and did not receive political

backing of women.

Mable Muruli Kakamega Independe

nt

Questions were raised about her UK degree. This

denied her a place in the ballot for Kakamega county

gubernatorial race. The high court recognised her

degrees but the IEBC argued that it was too late as the

ballots had printed. The matter is in court as election

petition.

Millicent

Omanga

Nairobi URP She was one of the first candidates to enter the Nairobi

senatorial race. When URP joined TNA to form Jubilee,

she was proposed as a running mate to whoever TNA

would pick for the gubernatorial race. Elders from her

Kisii community conspired with a senior politician to

reject her and suggest another candidate as running

mate. TNA presented its list without her name and it

was too late to revert to her senatorial bid. She admits

she was duped but has not lost hope.

Mary Mwangi Embakasi

East

TNA She a TNA woman candidate in Nairobi. Allegation of

double voting cost her bid for the Embakasi East

parliamentary seat. An IEBC clerk was held in custody

over allegations of helping people vote twice. She is set

to file a petition in the High court.

Lilian Mwaura Kiambu TNA She invested all she had in the nominations only for her

name to miss in the TNA nominations list. She took the

matter to the IEBC tribunal when it was too late.

Ann Anyanga Migori ODM She had a hard time in the campaign trail during the

party nominations. On one occasion rowdy youth

attacked her and they held her hostage demanding for

money. She had allegedly told them to line up for cash

handout. She was whistled away to an unknown

destination amid stone throws and other crude

weapons coupled with insults. She alleged that a local

MP was responsible for her frustration. She eventually

lost in the party nomination.

Ruth Odinga Kisumu ODM She had a rough time while campaigning especially

because opponents touched on her relationship with

the Prime Minister. At the declaration of results for party

nominations in which she was allegedly declared

winner. Those were protests in Kisumu over her

controversial nomination. She eventually gave up her

bid for governor at the persuasion of her brother, the

Prime Minister.


Name Constituency

Political

Party/

Alliance


Elizabeth

Ongoro

Nairobi ODM Being the sole contestant for the ODM senatorial ticket,

she was nominated by the party only to get a rude

shock from media that the ticket had been awarded to

Margaret Wanjiru on regional consideration / balancing.

She was offered the parliamentary ticket for Ruaraka

which she rejected terming it a breach of democracy.

Margaret

Wanjiru

Nairobi ODM Her bid to vie for Nairobi gubernatorial slot was

frustrated last minute, just before the party primaries,

her party advised her that she should back out of the

race leaving her opponent as the sole contender. This

was after allegation that she possessed fake degree

from institution that was not recognized. She refuted

the application and her battle against the law suit in

court provided futile. She was later offered the party

ticket for the Senate seat in preference to Elizabeth

Ongoro. She lost to former Makadara MP Gideon

Mbuvi in the senatorial contest.

Pascalia

Makonjio

Nambale Ford She had rolled out plans she believes will boost

Nambale constituency. Despite of her vision she still

had to deal with threats from rivals but she was

determined to become the first woman MP. She

however lost in the general election.

Amina

Riwadhani

Likoni TNA She had been unopposed in the race for the TNA party

ticket until when she was denied a certificate which was

awarded to somebody else. She accused Mombasa

governor hopeful Abdalla Mwaruwa of colluding with

national organising secretary Patrick Birya to give the

ticket to someone else. She had defected from wiper to

TNA.


4 SECTION FIVE: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

4.1 Conclusion

The path to Kenya women’s towards elective leadership can be traced to the efforts of academics, women and men MPs, development partners and women’s organizations that have over the years lobbied for increased women’s representation since the 1985 Nairobi Women’s Conference and the 1995 Beijing Women’s Conference. The promulgation of the new Constitution in August 2010 was a milestone. The Constitution promised to increase space for women’s participation through Articles 27(8) and (81) b which provided for no more than two thirds representation of one gender in elective and appointive posts. Based on the outcome of this print media monitoring report, it is evident that despite all the efforts, the March 4

th 2013 general election failed to deliver

the much needed increased women’s representation to at least one third. There was not a single female Governor or Senator elected and only 16 (5.5%) of the 290 Members of Parliament were directly elected as MPs. This is a worse performance compared to the 22 women who made it to Parliament in 2007 when the House had 222 legislators. This decline can be attributed to several hurdles that women go through. These include the deeply rooted cultural stereotypes that work against women in Kenya in their quest for political leadership. Others are the lack of strict electoral code of conduct, politically sponsored gender based electoral violence, lack of political support from party leaders due to their lack of a history in party patronage, poverty and electoral fraud all affected women more than men resulting in their poor performance in the 2013 general elections. From the foregoing and based on the findings of the print media monitoring report conducted

between (December 2012 to March 2013), the following recommendations are necessary:

4.2 Recommendations

Print media needs to provide equal coverage opportunities to women aspirants /

candidates at all stages of the electoral processes.

The media needs to provide a platform to articulate issues affecting women in politics

The political parties and the electoral body must come up with strict electoral code of

conduct and punitive legislation to curb electoral violence against women.

Media houses to conduct tailored training for media professionals (journalists) and editors focusing on electoral news coverage and the need for impartiality and exposing electoral violence and other malpractices targeting women.

The political parties and the electoral body need to conduct civic education to help curb electoral violence and voter apathy against women aspirants.

Lobby for enforcement for Bill of Rights Article 27(3) on the two-thirds principle to achieve gender equality in leadership.

Women lobby organizations to support women aspirants financially during the political parties’ preliminary nominations and election campaigns.

Sensitize cultural elders across all the communities in Kenya to give equal opportunities to women in leadership.

Women MPs should partner with local and national women’s civil society organizations to share ideas on women’s issues and monitor implementation of constitutional provisions supporting women

The Gender Commission to facilitate training of governors, senators and male MPs to ensure an understanding of why gender mainstreaming is critical for development.


Annex 1: Nominated Senators and Members of Parliament (MPs)

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) recently gazetted the names of the nominees, 20 of them to the Senate and 12 to sit in the National Assembly. Of this number, 65.6% of the nominations went to women. Below is the complete list of nominated women MPs and Senators by the nominating political party.

Names of Nominated Women MPs

No. Name Nominating Party

1. Zulekha Hassan Juma ODM

2. Amina Abdalla TNA

3. Janet Marania Teiyaa TNA

4. Korere Sara Paulata URP

5. Sunjeev Kour Birdi URP

Names of Nominated Women Senators

No. Name Nominating Party

6. Janet Ongera ODM

7. Elizabeth Ongoro Masha ODM

8. Halima Abdille Mohamud ODM

9. Dr. Agnes Nzani ODM

10. Beth Wambui Mugo TNA

11. Emma Mbura Gertrude TNA

12. Naisula Lesuuda TNA

13. Joy Adhiambo Gwendo TNA

14. Mshenga Mvita Kisasa TNA

15. Chelule Liza URP

16. Dullo Fatuma Adan URP

17. Zipporah Jepchirchir Kittony KANU

18. Martha Wangari UDF

19. Beatrice Elachi APK

20. Judith Achieng Sijeny WDP-K

21. Catherine Mukite Nobwola Ford Kenya

Documents

Print Media Monitoring Report of Electoral Violence