President Uhuru Kenyatta has ruled Kenya for about seven years now since he was declared President-elect on Saturday, March 9, 2013, at 2:44 p.m. heralding a new ear of 'digital administration'.
Uhuru's rise to the highest office in the country with a backdrop of a monumental loss in his 2002 presidential bid can be attributed, in part, to a number of women working behind the scenes, now said to wield 'soft power' in his presidency.
Mama Ngina Kenyatta
Leading the pack is the media-shy matriarch of the Kenyatta family, President Uhuru’s mother and former First Lady, Mama Ngina Kenyatta.
According to The Standard in June 2017, in her motherly and matriarchal role, Mama Ngina took the prize for doing the donkey work for her son, running difficult errands of knocking at important political doors, diffusing potentially explosive situations, and even going to the extent of offending some people along the way to ensure that he got to where he is today.
In the book from 'Charcoal to Gold', Njenga Karume, former Kiambaa MP and business mogul indicated how Mama Ngina knocked at his door in 2002 pleading with him to support Uhuru's first shot at the presidency.
When President Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto were facing indictments from The International Criminal Court, she was at the forefront of praying for their release.
“I want to give these two who are here the parent’s blessings before they can go. I am sure they will overcome this,” she stated at the prayer rally she attended in Gatundu as she held the duo's hands.
Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Dr Monica Kathina Juma.
The role of the 'well-spoken but quiet scholar-turned-civil servant in Uhuru’s rise to power is often not recognised as she is always in the background. But before joining mainstream civil service, Juma was Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the African Union (AU) Commission in 2013.
She played a major role in the famous ‘Shuttle Diplomacy’ by wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka against the ICC seeking the support of the AU.
During the President's first term, she served in three powerful positions with her meteoric rise starting first as the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Defence before she replaced the suspended PS Mutea Iringo at the Ministry of Interior.
Kenyatta later nominated her as the Secretary to the Cabinet in charge of the Cabinet Office after the current Nyandarua Governor Francis Kimemia was shown the door.
Cabinet Secretary for Defence Raychelle Omamo
Before her appointment to the Cabinet, Omamo served as an advocate of the High Court for 28 years and on top of that, served as the vice president of the East African Law Society and Kenya’s ambassador to The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris, France.
When President Kenyatta picked her to join his Cabinet, she became the first woman to hold the powerful position and has been at the helm of Kenya's Defence ministry.
Prior to her appointment she was the Director of CoSec Solutions Limited where she provided oversight and advice regarding the formulation of corporate governance training programs. She also has 19 years experience in full time practice at Omamo & Omamo Advocates.
Cabinet Secretary for Sports Amina Chawahir Mohamed Jibril
Before her appointment by President Kenyatta in 2013, Ambassador Amina Mohamed had served the country in many high positions and represented it across the globe.
She made her way up the ranks of the country's diplomatic service, the highest level of being Kenya's permanent representative to the UN in Geneva between 2000 and 2006.
The accomplished CS has two local presidential awards; Elder of the Order of the Golden Heart and Chief of the Order of the Burning Spear.
She also has two foreign presidential awards; Knight of the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity and the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun from the Japanese government.
When President Uhuru Kenyatta transferred the CS from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Education docket she became the first woman to hold the office since independence.
Away from her diplomatic career that spans over 30 years, Amina is a family woman with two children.
With the help of her husband Khalid Ahmed, she also raises four orphans.
First Lady Margaret Kenyatta
Who can deny the support that she has given the president all through the years since they got married in 1989?
Despite that she was away from the limelight for most of her husband's political career, Margaret stepped up and took the bull by the horns the moment Uhuru announced his presidential bid.
In support of the crucial health agenda, Margaret launched the Beyond Zero campaign that seeks to eliminate mother and child mortality.
She has also been at the heart of supporting the girl child and the fight against FGM.
