Women leaders in Murang'a County are now at war amongst themselves and in the process sabotaging the immense gains they have achieved in the past 10 years.

By 2017, Murang'a had become a powerhouse for women acceptability in the ballot where of the seven(7) constituencies, the voters directly voted for three(3) of them--Alice Wahome (Kandara), Waithera wa Maua (Maragua). and Wangari Mwaniki (Kigumo).

Ms Sabina Chege beefed up their numbers in the National Assembly as Murang'a Woman Representative.

But because of what political pundits term as their lack of unity and failing to approach the voters as a forte, they lost the numerals and after the August 9, 2022, General Election tallying, they had lost two(2) seats and now have Wa Maua as the only elected MP.

"But what the Murang'a women lost in the ballot came back to them in torrents after Ms Wahome was appointed by President William Ruto as Water and Sanitation Cabinet Secretary (since transferred to Lands and Housing), Ms Veronica Maina from Kigumo constituency after serving the presidents United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party as Secretary General was nominated to the Senate. Add Betty Maina as the woman rep and Sabina Chege is being groomed for the Jubilee Party take over to replace retired President Uhuru Kenyatta," says Kigumo based political analyst Mr Zack Kinuthia.

Mr Kinuthia who served as Education and Sports Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) in the Mr Kenyatta administration says "if these wonderful women of Murang'a were to unite, they would achieve wonders both for themselves individually, for Murang'a people and for the women fraternity in the continent".

"Murang'a is currently the home of the second lady Ms Dorcas Gachagua who was born and grew up in Gatanga constituency and this amplifies the most solid opportunity ever that these warring women are sabotaging through baseless conflicts amongst themselves," he said.

So far, in the Jubilee Party politics, Ms Chege is at political war with women who support Mr Kenyatta and also, she is in verbal war with her successor as Murang'a Woman Representative, Ms Maina.

It started by Ms Maina warning that "those who are going around insulting and fighting Mr Kenyatta must realise that he is one of us...one of our sons and should give him a break since during his tenure, there are those good deeds he extended to us besides making them whom they are today".

Ms Chege accompanied by the former Cabinet Secretary (CS) Moses Kuria hit area constituencies making utterances that appeared to bring down Ms Maina to a point County Assembly Deputy Speaker Ms Lizzie Mbugua declared that "Sabina failing to defend her woman rep seat was a disservice to us and we hope that during the next election (2027) if not a bigger seat, she will defend this seat that appears vacant".

It was Wa Maua who came out fighting for Ms Maina stating that "those characters who went to Azimio to campaign for Mr Raila Odinga as we fought for Dr William Ruto whom our people believed in cannot come here to undermine Ms Maina in the pretext of visiting grassroots with relief food".

Ms Maina who has become a common denominator in all the wars involving women in the county had earlier dismissed CS Wahome as "one who behaves like a village plumber instead of the high office our president gave him and if it is politics she wants to play, she should resign and come and face us".

Their differences had been ignited by the January 5, 2024, by-election in Kandara that was meant to pick Ms Wahome's successor. 

After winning a third term as Kandara MP but getting appointed to the Cabinet, Ms Wahome was reported to have thrown her weight behind a Ford Asili candidate instead of the one vying on the president's UDA party.

A week later, Ms Maina while at Yakarengo Primary school in Mathioya constituency declared that "if you want me to help you with water issues be warned that I will not work with Ms Wahome rather I will do so through Deputy President Mr Rigathi Gachagua".

Smitten, Ms Wahome descended to the ground warning that “there is this small girl who has just discovered her succulence and wants to believe that she is equal to her mothers”.

“We are aware that she came to our party very late in political life and scraped through by skating along our coattails only to end up being such a disrespectful soul,” Ms Wahome said.

Ms Wahome mourned that "those girls are banking on false hopes that they can influence my sacking and the position be given to them...warn them that I did not get this position on considerations of beauty...it was deservedly vote for loyalty to Ruto candidacy".

 Ms Maina and Ms Wa Maua had earlier dismissed the county assembly males as sexists who after getting denied favours by elected women, they revenge.

The claim had been ignited by the County Assembly's disciplinary action against Kanyenya-ini Member of County Assembly (MCA) Ms Grace Nduta where she had been suspended for four months and a ban for her to earn allowances in assembly's committee sittings.

Ms Nduta had got into trouble for commenting on WhatsApp account that "health services in the county were poor where patients were dying for lack of oxygen and ambulances as our local colleagues in the assembly apply misplaced priorities".

Ms Wa Maua, Ms Maina and senator Maina invited the Kenya Women Parliamentarians Association (Kewopa) to fight for Ms Nduta and have her reinstated into the assembly.

They further sought the help of Mr Gachagua, Interior CS Prof KIthure Kindiki and the then UDA Secretary General Mr Cleophas Malala to have her reinstated.

But Ms Mbugua in a hard hitting declaration cautioned all that "Murang'a County assembly business is not transacted by women seated by the roadside, in churches or in public rallies and our challenges and solutions will be transacted on the floor of the house by those gazetted to sit in it, not these Nairobi women and men".

As the conflict rages, Murang'a woman bleeds, the national gender equity debate gets blotted and the national population of women empowerment agenda suffers a dent.