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Yes, Kenyan politician Jumwa appealed to president for jobs in video

A Facebook video of Kenyan politician Aisha Jumwa, member of parliament for the Malindi constituency, reacting to recent presidential appointments has been flagged by users of the platform as potentially false.

“Furious Aisha Jumwa lectures Uhuru over firing Kiunjuri and ignoring Mijikendas,” the headline reads.

On 14 January 2020 president Uhuru Kenyatta announced that he had reshuffled his Cabinet, firing one minister and bringing two new ministers on board.

In the video, Aisha complains about the “exclusion” of the Mijikenda community, from which she hails from, from the appointment of top government positions.

“Kama kiongozi kutoka jamii ya kimijikenda nimeona jambo ambalo katika macho yangu siamini, hasa sana, tukiangalia katika huu wakati ambao tuko katika uongozi katika taifa hili letu la Kenya,” she says in Kiswahili.

“Ya kwamba katika wale wote waliopata kuchaguliwa hakukuwa na kijana ama msichana ama mtu yeyote wa kimijikenda amabaye Rais amepata kumchagua katika hizi nyadhifa.”

This translates as: “As a leader from the Mijikenda Community, I am angry. I cannot believe it. There was no man or woman from the Mijikenda community who has been appointed to any of these positions.”



‘We are not convinced’


She then pokes holes in the inclusivity suggested by the famous 2018 handshake between Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga, as well as the unity-focused Building Bridges Initiative.

“Mr President, we thank you for the handshake, but at this point, we are not convinced that handshake and BBI are about inclusivity,” she says in Kiswahili.

“If they haven’t told you that the Mijikenda Community exists, let me tell you that we do exist. We have gone to school and we have the aptitude to run ministries, to be principal secretaries and chief administrative secretaries. If they hadn’t told you, now you know, we exist and we have to count.”

Is Jumwa “lecturing” the president? That would depend on which side of the political divide you view it from. But it is certainly the MP in the video, passionately appealing to Kenyatta for the Mijikenda to be considered for top government jobs. Grace Gichuhi




 

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