NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct, 18 – Former Malindi MP Aisha Jumwa was On Tuesday vetted by the 15-member Committee on Appointments as she sought to explain why she deserves her nomination as Public Service, Gender and Affirmative Action Cabinet Secretary.
Juma was asked various questions as the vetting panelist sought to ascertain her qualification for the position.
Among the areas of interest included her net worth, to which Jumwa said she was worth Sh100 million.
She was however unable to break down her net worth and sources of income with Speaker Moses Wetang’ula, who is the chairperson of the panel, directing her to give a tabulation of what she owns before presenting it to the secretariat later in the week.
A teary jump also spoke of her background growing up as well as her she surmounted her being wed off at an early age to realize her dreams.
Speaker Wetangula had to intervene, comforting the MP as he asked her to compose herself as she continued crying while making her presentation.
“I got married off and in that union, I became a mother of my firstborn. I must say that this is one of the practices that must be curbed because it is very harmful and harmful to girls, especially those underage,” said Jumwa.
A desire for greatness and a better future for her child drove her to defy societal expectations.
“I was not content to be a housewife, so I took a keen interest in matters affecting communities and became a vocal voice to youth, women, and people living with disabilities and I decided to join active politics,”
The former legislator also narrated how she went back to school and did her KCSE in 2011.
She then proceeded to the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology where she obtained a certificate in County Governance in 2012.
“This was followed by an Executive Master’s in Leadership and Governance from the same institution in 2015. In 2021 I graduated with a Bachelor’s of Leadership and Management from International Leadership University in Nairobi and currently, I am registered at Africa Nazarene University for a Bachelor of Laws degree,” Jumwa said.
She said that she has been providing for her close to 27 siblings.
“I represent many who today are looking at Aisha Jumwa as a role model in that you can have a D or D- and get somewhere in life,” she said.
The vetting panel also sought to understand how she managed to acquire a degree despite her academic marks.
“It wasn’t easy for me to score those marks you are saying because I had to take myself to class after dropping in Form Two. I struggled as a private candidate but I took it as a challenge that I had to be better and serve the society better,” said Jumwa.
Amid increasing cases of Kenyans being killed, tortured, and even harassed in the Gulf States Jumwa said that she would work with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to address the matter while citing that influential people in society are to blame for taking Kenyan girls to their death in the Middle East.
“The people taking young girls to work in the Middle East are powerful people in this country. We will work with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to recheck the licenses of these agencies,” said Jumwa.
Also, the former Mp who unsuccessfully contested the Kilifi Gubernatorial seat said that the fraud and murder cases gains him in court were politically motivated.
“It is in the public domain that these cases were politically motivated I still repeat it…am happy that the DPP dropped the case that is touching on the misappropriation of the funds issue. I want to say I am innocent as the Constitution suggests, the presumption of innocence until proven guilty,” she said.
Juma also abdicated herself from the shooting incident saying that she empathizes with the family of the deceased.
“I want to empathize with the family, indeed there was a loss of life, it is unfortunate but again, I am clear in my mind that I never shot anyone because I don’t own a gun, I am not a gun holder and I don’t even know the names of guns in this country,” said Jumwa who further said that, “There are three witnesses who have so far testified in court and none of the witnesses mentioned my name, and there was a ballistic report in public where my name was not in any way mentioned on the same.”
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