Kamar: Suave, soft-spoken lady ruffling feathers in North Rift
Wycliff Kipsang @wsang08
Professor Margaret Jepkoech Kamar easily passes off as a polite and calm politician, which has made many dismiss her influence in Rift Valley politics.
But behind the polite face is a suave, stubborn and a strategic politician who has been able to navigate the murky political waters which has earned her the label of the ‘The Tough Woman of the North Rift’.
The Uasin Gishu Senator has weathered many storms, almost single-handedly, and came out victorious. In all those, she went against the grain.
While many politicians in the Rift Valley are dancing to the tune of Deputy President William Ruto, Kamar has been making what is perceived as an independent political position with critics accusing her of being “the rebel within.”
Soil scientist
The soil scientist was last June elected unopposed as the Senate Deputy Speaker taking over from embattled Prof Kithure Kindiki (Tharaka Nithi), who had resigned.
Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi accused her of being “a traitor” for accepting to occupy a seat that was held by a staunch Ruto stalwart.
It would be remembered that Kamar in 2013 unsuccessfully contested the Uasin Gishu governor’s seat on Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party against the Jubilee wave in the North Rift.
It is for this reason that Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi congratulated Kamar on her election as Deputy Speaker.
“We have never forgotten the sacrifices Kamar had to make for the bigger cause where she stood with the 2010 Constitution and for standing with the Orange party in 2013 in principle,” Wandayi said.
Although she has kept her 2022 ambitions close to her chest, her supporters have been nudging her to run for Uasin Gishu governor’s seat. She has lately renewed her rivalry with outgoing governor Jackson Mandago.
Her bid is also reinforced by a narrative that the Uasin Gishu governorship should go to a member of the Keiyo community after the Nandi community served two terms.
“I always speak my mind and make my own independent decisions,” Kamar told People Daily. But her election as Senate Deputy Speaker continues to attract murmurs in the DP’s backyard.
Soy MP Caleb Kositany argyes that Kamar’s election was a big blow to democracy.
“We will never succeed democratically so long as people will be used to take positions whose previous occupants were stripped of them illegally,” Kositany, a close Ruto ally said yesterday.
“If we didn’t have Kamar, we would still be having Kindiki as the Deputy Speaker, but there are many Kamars who betrayed the general course of democracy.
This is not even about betrayal of William Ruto but betrayal of democracy,” he insisted.
However, ODM National Secretary for Devolution Affairs Kipkorir arap Menjo says it is the prerogative of the president to organise and re organise positions.
“You can’t fault anybody for a position she has been given. Prof Kamar acted as Speaker many times when she was MP for Eldoret East. Her confidence in the field is unquestionable.
That’s the reason why some of her opponents even stepped down in her favour,” said Menjo.
“Local politics should not be dragged into this. Once the people elect you, you have a right to be in any committee depending on your confidence.
In any case, her election as Senate Deputy Speaker is a plus to the people of Uasin Gishu,” added Menjo.
Various sections
Before his resignation, Kindiki was accused of violating various sections of the Political Parties Act, the Constitution of Kenya 2010 and the Jubilee Party Constitution.
He was also accused of refusing to attend a meeting of Jubilee elected leaders at State House on May 11, 2020. Kamar attended the meeting, attracting a backlash from Ruto’s surrogates.
Kamar, the widow of ultra-powerful Cabinent Minister in the Moi Kanu era, the late Nicholas Biwott, made a comeback in politics in 2017 after she won the Uasin Gishu senatorial seat.
She garnered 65,931 votes to beat a field of 13 men, who included then incumbent Isaac Melly who came fourth with 10,391 votes.
Kamar was first elected to the National Assembly in 2007 and appointed assistant minister for Environment.
She would later replace Deputy President William Ruto as Higher Education minister after the latter fell out with former premier Raila Odinga in the Grand Coalition government.
Born on April 28, 1959, Kamar served as a nominated member of the East African Legislative Assembly between 2001 and 2006.
