‘I was not content to be a housewife’, teary Aisha Jumwa tells Parliament during CS vetting

Appearing before the Committee on Appointments to be vetted for the Cabinet position, Jumwa took the 15-member panel through her experience with early marriage as a village girl in Kilifi County.

“My parents were poor; they used to struggle to provide for me,” she said before breaking into tears. 

Speaker Moses Wetangula, who is the chair of the committee told Jumwa: “Compose yourself, we have all walked the same journey, so don’t worry.”

The former Malindi MP continued: “To provide for me and my 27 siblings… Regrettably, I had to drop out of high school due to lack of school fees. I was at home, there was absolutely no prospects to expand my horizons.” 

The outspoken politician said that that is when she became a victim of early marriage.

“I got married off and in that union I became a mother of my first born. 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, adding that the experience sparked her interest in politics.

“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 parliamentarian narrated how she went back to school and did her KCSE in 2011, before proceeding to the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology for 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,” she said.

“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 added.

In the vetting, Jumwa also told the House that she is worth Ksh. 100 million.