Former Nyeri Woman Representative Priscilla Nyokabi has alleged sexual harassment during her time in the National Assembly.
Speaking to Inooro TV’s Itugi show, Nyokabi, who just resigned from the National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC), said gender-based harassment is rampant in the House.
She, along with other female colleagues, the Constitutional and Human Rights lawyer intimated, had to propose enactment of policies to safeguard women lawmakers from inappropriate sexual harassment in Parliament.
“When I got to Parliament in 2013, I was still young and a greenhorn in politics and therefore thought gender discrimination was alien within the precincts of the hallowed House. I was therefore taken aback when I found myself on the receiving end of indecent sexual overtures from some members of the House.
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“Not even my strong links with Fida (Federation of Women Lawyers) and my no-nonsense approach to protection of women rights deterred these mafisi (sex predators),” said the Nyeri senatorial aspirant.
Nyokabi, on the other hand, praised former Tetu MP and Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai, Supreme Court judge Njoki Ndung’u (a former Nominated MP), and Winnie Byanyima, the wife of Ugandan opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye, for spearheading efforts to protect women’s rights and dignity in political offices.
Women lawmakers were able to press for the implementation of policies that eventually controlled the excesses of male MPs towards their female counterparts, she added.
“We did manage to formulate policies and procedures to guide every MP on how to conduct himself or herself as far as matters of sexual harassment was concerned through the help of the Speaker.
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“At that time, the principles of Winnie Byanyima Besigye, Prof Wangari Maathai and Justice Njoki Ndung’u in clamour for women rights and their fight against any forms of sexual harassment came handy in our fight in bringing the trend to an end,” added the advocate.
The former County MP further denied that she was yet to resign from NGEC.
The claims, she said, were an attempt to damage her character, but noted that it would not dissuade her from returning to active politics.
Nyokabi who is vying for the office currently held by Ephraim Maina, will face off with others like Boniface Njagi of TSP, Kabando wa Kabando of Narc-Kenya, and former chairperson for Mathira National Government Constituency Development Fund (NGCDF) Wahome Mwangi of UDA.
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