Margaret Kenyatta leaves an indelible mark at State House
She has been a First Lady extraordinaire.
There had been none like her previously. She set high standards too.
Hearty, reticent and full of vigour, President Uhuru Kenyatta’s wife, Margaret, has earned respect and admiration in equal measure.
Margaret exits her State role on Tuesdaay next week, after having served as the First Lady for the last 10 years.
Reserved, cool-headed and apolitical, the outgoing First Lady has stuck to simplicity in her people-centred approach in the promotion of healthcare, environment conservation and women’s rights.
Non-controversial from the beginning, Margaret rarely opens up about her personal life or State responsibilities, only choosing to occasionally give glimpses when she speaks at official functions or takes part in a marathon.
For instance, on July 22, she pledged to continue engaging in charity work through the Beyond Zero initiative past her term in office. Margaret said Beyond Zero would continue to leverage on its partnerships to address gender inequality, maternal health and support for children with disability as well as other vulnerable groups.
“We must embrace ideas and innovation, learn from each other, apply local and sustainable solutions, so that we can continue to avert the risks our women, youth, marginalised and the vulnerable face. And I truly look forward to serving that cause long after my race as First Lady is run,” she declared at State House, Nairobi at an event to celebrate 10 years of the Beyond Zero initiative.
She said her charity work over the decade was defined by the desire to ensure no Kenyan woman died while giving birth and observed that the tremendous progress had been made during her decade’s advocacy for the eradication of maternal deaths, stereotyping and social stigma of people living with HIV/Aids and other forms of ill-health.
“I will continue to deliver on the promise I made 10 years ago. Because we recognise that there is a great deal of work to be done to support women, children and vulnerable communities. The journey is long and we are nowhere near its end,” she said.
Save for 2020 when her Beyond Zero marathon was overshadowed by the global coronavirus pandemic and in 2021 when the event was low key owing to the avian flu, the First Lady, was certainly unfazed.
Sustainable solutions
Margaret uses her public space so measurably and meticulously. She is not a consistent news headliner. However, when she does make it to the news, she has done so with a tinge of quality and purpose.
She speaks very little but delivers a lot. She keeps off the glare of cameras but when she appears in public it is for an assignment of great import.
In ways more than one, she has contributed to the demystification of the Presidency as well as the office of First Lady compared to her predecessor, Lucy Kibaki.
Until Covid-19 struck in 2020, Margaret led thousands of Kenyans to participate in the Beyond Zero marathon, a 21-kilometre race she initiated in 2015 to help raise funds towards maternal care and infant mortality.
While Beyond Zero easily passes as her signature testament, the First Lady has been deeply involved in other outfield programmes of similar humanitarian import. And the world has been noticing as much.
Her tenure at State House has registered a milestone, which the citizenry was not familiar with before 2013 when she ascended to the perch. Previously, spouses of Heads of State and his second-in-command were meant to be merely seen and not heard.
Apart from accompanying their husbands at weddings and funerals, they were regular features at annual year-ender parties where they danced with their spouses to old music.
That trend changed since 2013. Drastically so. Margaret noticeably took to the road, shuttling from one corner of the country to the other to meet women and children to focus on salient matters concerning Kenyans, especially relating to health and wellness.
Urbane and soft-spoken, she turned out to complement her husband. She established herself as a big-hearted, issue-oriented, cultured, measured speaker and keen listener, who relentlessly advocates social justice with a deliberate eye on youth and women affairs, healthcare and conservation.
When she was not running with other Kenyans to raise funds to combat mother and infant mortality - a mission she accomplishes with a great dispslay of synergy - she was down in the villages with fellow citizens to confront outdated cultural practices like Female Genital Mutilation and tackling the jigger menace in some parts of the country.
The President’s wife is also an avid wildlife conservationist, with her attention on the rampant killings of jumbos and rhinos coming out as an instant eye-catcher.
She is a captivating operative who effectively supplemented her ever-in-the-field husband.
Outgoing Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) for Gender, Linah Jebii Kilimo, commends Margaret for her relentless efforts in the fight against FGM and crusade for the girl-child, especially in the rural countries.
Says Kilimo: “The First Lady is a very focussed person. She is fully committed to the welfare of the girl-child and women as a whole. She is a very warm person who is devoted to the development of women, especially on matters of maternal child-care, FGM and the rights of the girl-child.”
Kilimo, a former chairperson of the Anti-FGM Board, credits Margaret for her relentless push for women in the rural parts of Kenya where violation of their rights is still rampant.
“Our First Lady has been fantastic. She is a very hardworking with person who cares for the ordinary folks. I hope that whoever comes after her will proceed from where she will have left. It will help a lot, especially in devolved areas. Her efforts need to be replicated in the counties. The good news is that she has stated that she will continue with her work even after she leaves office,” says Kilimo a former Minister for Immigration and Registration of Persons.
Former parliamentarian Rose Waruhiu told People Daily that the position of First Lady has been given more meaning and substance during Uhuru’s presidency.
“She has defined that office in a more focused direction and given it a hearty trend that will certainly be emulated by others who will come after her. Previously, the holder of that office was an underutilised resource,” Waruhiu said.
She added: “The way the First Lady has defined it is very admirable as she has given it energy, exposure and meaning. That is very commendable of her.t.”
Also speaking highly of Margaret was Prof Julia Ojiambo, Kenya’s first woman Assistant Minister.
Good moment
She told People Daily: “It is always a good moment to see the First Lady mingling with ordinary Kenyans so effortlessly in a number of activities like running in a marathon to raise funds for the cause of the Kenyan mother and child or conducting civic education among Kenyan women.”
on investments and economic empowerment. She has provided a new dimension to the presidency.”
On March 18, 2021, while applauding the current 23 per cent representation of women in the National Assembly, the First Lady said more work needed to be done to achieve the constitutionally proposed two-thirds gender rule.
“Let us continue working, together, for the progress we all believe in. And let us begin with ourselves, in our own spaces, in our homes, in our schools and with our children. We know that women can bring a difference in leadership by ensuring that the needs and aspirations of women and men, boys and girls are addressed equitably,” First Lady said.
She made the remarks while presiding over virtual celebrations to mark the International Women’s Day under the theme ‘Women in Leadership: Achieving an equal future in a Covid-19 world’.
