Q&A: "For Me, Money Has Been the Real Issue"

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Interview with Pamela Mburia

NAIROBI, Dec 26 2007 (IPS) - As IPS reported earlier this year, the financial cost of campaigning has weighed heavily on certain women candidates in Kenya&#39s general elections, set to take place Dec. 27. With just hours remaining before the polls, we caught up with one of these candidates – Pamela Mburia – to find out how she&#39d managed to press ahead with her bid for office in the face of such difficulties.

"The roads are impassable and one has to hire a truck to be able to reach some of the areas," Mburia noted in her earlier interview (see &#39POLITICS-KENYA: "I Almost Have No Fare to Come Back to Nairobi"&#39).

"It is expensive…I depend entirely on my salary," she told IPS, which last month hosted Mburia, along with several other female politicians, at a workshop on various aspects of women&#39s participation in politics (see &#39AFRICA: Money, Media and Tradition Complicate Women&#39s Political Aspirations&#39).

East Africa correspondent Kwamboka Oyaro reached Mburia in Nithi in the Eastern Province, where the candidate hopes to win a parliamentary seat on the ticket of the Mazingira Greens Party. In addition to the legislative poll, Kenya will hold presidential and local council elections Thursday.

IPS: When you spoke to us a while ago, you highlighted the financial strain of campaigning. Have matters improved since?

Pamela Mburia (PM): If anything it has become worse. I think I have survived this far because of the grace of God. Sometimes friends chip in, but it is nothing to write home about. Overall I haven&#39t been able to get much support…In my constituency there are 157 polling stations, and one needs a similar number of agents and one has to pay them. At least my party will take of that.

PM: I take a day at a time. My family has been supportive. I have exhausted my personal savings. I sold all my shares at the Nairobi Stock Exchange…I have nothing to my name any more.

IPS: Earlier this year, you also spoke of how difficult it was to campaign amongst very poor people who expected financial help from you in return for traveling long distances to listen to your speeches. How have you dealt with this challenge – helping your potential constituents, while steering clear of bribery?

PM: I think poverty is not really the issue here, but a people who have been turned to beggars. I mean, even shop owners close their shops as soon as they hear an aspirant is passing by and stretch out their hands waiting for handouts.

Many of the contestants have a lot of money and they have decided to dish it out to voters. As soon as they receive the money – about 50 shillings (less than a dollar) – they become hostile to me.

I don&#39t bribe them, since my campaign kicked off with issues and I made inroads among the people. But the money my competitors are using has really eaten into my support. The people are gullible. The little money they get influences them, and they say they are better off voting for the person from whom they have received something. But I am still optimistic.

IPS: Who are you facing off against in your constituency?

PM: Besides the immediate former MP (member of parliament) for Nithi, there are 18 other contestants.

IPS: What are the main issues on your campaign agenda?

PM: Raising levels of education in the constituency, equitable distribution of resources and access to services…For instance, I will raise education standards by ensuring there are more teachers posted to schools. Currently the number of teachers versus that of pupils is unrealistic, which prevents proper learning. I have shown them (voters) how we will bring services such as health clinics closer to the people.

IPS: Do you feel that enough women have attended your campaign events, or do you have a sense that female voters are too tied up by domestic responsibilities to follow election events?

PM: No. Both men and women attend my events. In fact, women are part of my campaign team. Some genuinely come to listen to me, while others attend expecting some money. But they come.

IPS: Has the matter of your being a woman cropped up on the campaign trail? Has it been raised by voters?

PM: My gender has only been an issue with my rivals, who go around warning voters against choosing a woman. But voters haven&#39t raised the issue directly with me. For me, money has been the real issue and not voters.

IPS: How have the media dealt with the campaign in your constituency?

PM: There is no media presence in Nithi. It is remote and the journalists seem too busy for us. I sometimes call them but none turns up. We at Nithi have been given a blackout by the media.