Evolution of First Lady office and what it means for occupants
Since independence, Kenya has so far had four First Ladies.
The first was Mama Nginga Kenyatta, wife of the founding father of the nation, Jomo Kenyatta and the mother of outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Mama Ngina has made history as the First Lady who also became mother of a sitting president after her son, Uhuru, ascended to the top seat in 2013.
The transition to a new administration on Tuesday will therefore, be historic for the office of First Lady in many ways.
The second was Mama Lena Moi, wife of Kenya’s second President, the kate Daniel arap Moi. However, there is not much to be said about her tenure after she and Moi became estranged and she retreated to live a quiet life away from the public eye.
Mama Lucy Kibaki brought both colour and controversy to the office after her husband, Mwai Kibaki, became President in 2002.
Save for Mama Lucy, who was very visible and vocal on a variety of issues in the nascent stages of Kibaki’s first term, previous spouses of the Heads of State consistently, if not conveniently, kept off the limelight that characterised their husbands’ offices.
Soon after becoming the First Lady, Lucy in 2003 embarked on eye-catching humanitarian programmes with special attention on improving the lives of the girl-child and the fight against HIV/Aids.
She was elected as the first Chair of the African First Ladies Against (AFLA) HIV/Aids, an ensemble that brought together 40 spouses of Heads of State and Governments across the African continent.
While in the AFLA chair, she advocated abstinence among teenagers and strongly opposed the use of contraceptives, arguing that students in secondary schools and their unmarried university counterparts had no business engaging in sex or purchasing condoms.
As First Lady, Lucy occasionally courted controversy. At one point, she snubbed the then State House Comptroller and close friend of her husband, Matere Kereri at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport while returning from a foreign trip with the President.
On another, she stormed the offices of the Nation Media Group to protest against what she termed as negative reporting on her person and her family and even slapped a cameraman who was filming the events of her visit. At a different occasion, Lucy went public to castigate the then Internal Security Minister, the late Prof George Saitoti, accusing him of incompetence at his portfolio, forcing her husband - President Kibaki - to publicly issue a statement in defence of his loyal minister.
