Kikuyu Member of Parliament and Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah on Wednesday, April 16, apologised on behalf of Gender Cabinet Secretary nominee, Hanna Cheptumo, over her controversial remark on femicide.
While forwarding a motion seeking the National Assembly’s approval for the nomination of Cheptumo and her Public Service counterpart Geoffrey Ruku, Ichung’wah confirmed that he had spoken to the nominee and received her apologies over her remarks.
“Ever since the incident happened, I have indeed spoken to her (Cheptumo) and she has offered her unreserved apologies to the country, to the (National Assembly Appointments) Committee, to this house for that inadvertent statement and I think it is only right that we support this lady,” Ichung’wah stated.
Ichung’wah alluded to the controversial remarks made by Cheptumo, stating she was in an unfamiliar environment where she was under the national limelight.
“Without being an apologist for her, it is only right we understand the context in which things are said. Someone who has not been in the space that she was in that day is likely to make such small mistakes. When you have not less than 20 cameras on your face, people panic and may answer questions in a way that they never intended to,” Ichung'wah expressed.
On Monday, April 14, Cheptumo made a controversial remark when asked to define femicide, which left some of the legislators with questions.
During the vetting by the National Assembly Committee on Appointments, Cheptumo stated that victims of femicide were mainly uneducated women. She went on to add that the educated ones were killed or attacked while looking for money.
This did not sit well with some of the panellists, like the committee chair Moses Wetangula, who highlighted that most of the girls killed in Airbnbs were university students who were educated.
To this, Cheptumo did not back down but added that the educated ones were looking for money, stating, "They are educated, but those are looking for money. You know a girl has many needs."
Likoni MP Mishi Mboko was also frustrated, calling for a point of order even though the CS nominee failed to apologise.
"It is not good to say that those girls are looking for money and that is why they are brutally murdered," MP Mboko stated.
Ichung’wah’s comments came after National Assemby Deputy Speaker Gladys Boss Shollei demanded an apology from Cheptumo over her controversial remark. During the parliament session, Shollei rose on a point of order while Ichung’wah was forwarding the motion. This is when she demanded an apology from Cheptumo, despite expressing her approval of her appointment.
“As much as I agree with the leader of the majority on the professionalism of Hanna Wendot Cheptumo, I still think that the statement she made was unfortunate, was completely politically incorrect, and she must apologise,” she remarked.
If she is approved, Cheptumo, who is the widow of the late Baringo Senator William Cheptumo, who passed on in February, will fill the gender docket that has been vacant since August 2024.
She is a lawyer by profession and describes herself as a women's rights advocate.
