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Kiambu , June 03, 2007

First Lady Lucy Kibaki unveils the plaque to mark the finishing of the door of hope church, PCEA, Kambui Parish building at Kiambu where she presided over a Fundraising in aid of the church.

First Lady in plea for peace

First Lady Mrs. Lucy Kibaki has called on the youth in the country to refuse to be misused by people to create a state of insecurity in the country.

The First Lady charged that self-seekers had infiltrated the youth in the parts of the country and influenced the gullible among them to engage in the orgy of violence witnessed in the country in the recent past.

She said it was unfortunate that the violence had become characteristic of election years, noting it was the work of people seeking to cause disaffection against the government and make it unpopular among voters.

The First Lady was speaking today at PCEA Kambui church in Kiambu district where she helped raise shs. 4,410,574 for the church. She gave one million shillings.

She called on the church and other religious organisations to take a central role in preaching peace in the country, saying this task should not be left to the government alone.

Said the First Lady, "I would also like to appeal to parents whose children have been misled to join these murderous gangs to counsel them to change their behaviour and be rehabilitated back to the civilised society."

Mrs. Kibaki at the same time cautioned those aspiring to leadership positions in the country against engaging in unorthodox means to solicit for votes.

She said it was disturbing that some leaders in the opposition resorted to concocting the truth to gain political mileage.

"It is laughable that some even said the much-acclaimed free primary education programme would fail. They have since gone quiet after the success of the programme," she said.

Noting that the free Primary Education and the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) were among the many programmes undertaken by the government successfully, she advised the electorate to judge for themselves who is worthy of leadership and make an informed choice during the general election.

The First Lady also spoke about education of the girl child and called on all stakeholders to take deliberate measures to ensure that girls pursue courses that are relevant to modern economy.

Noting that development has increasingly become science and technology driven, Mrs. Kibaki said it was imperative that focus was shifted from what has been regarded as "traditional girl subjects" to scientific and technical occupations.

Said she, "The concern here should be whether the nature and content of education which is provided to girls is free from gender bias and whether it provides equal access to the job market."


She singled out the church as being central in uplifting the girl child, saying this can be achieved by placing emphasis on scientific, technical and vocational subjects in Church sponsored schools and other church education programmes.

"I would like, on this occasion, to appeal to Churches, corporate organizations and civil society to strengthen partnerships with the government in promoting the agenda of empowering girls and women," she added.

Mrs. Kibaki went on to say that the key to empowering girls is to ensure they have access to education which will enable them to achieve their potential for themselves, their families and their communities.

The empowerment of women, she said, cannot be achieved until the issue of political empowerment is addressed adding there was need to expand the role of women in the political arena to enable them mainstream gender perspectives on the challenges facing society.

Noting that there were far too few women holding positions of authority in government, in the corporate world, in political organisations and even in the church, Mrs. Kibaki expressed concern that women do not have meaningful opportunities to contribute to the decision-making process.

Said the First Lady, "I therefore call upon churches, corporate entities and political organizations to increase the participation of women in decision making at all levels. Most importantly, I call upon women in the country to aggressively seek leadership positions." She emphasized.

"As we approach the general election, in particular, I urge women to exploit their numerical advantage to increase their representation in Parliament," she added.

She lauded the government's affirmative action, which guaranteed women 30 per cent of all employment opportunities, and cited the recent recruitment of 300 district officers 30 per cent of whom were women, as a step in the right direction.

Emphasizing that empowering women also involved the enactment of legislation, Mrs. Kibaki said there was an urgent need to repeal existing laws and outlaw customs and practices that discriminate against women in relation to land.

She said, "specific legislation should be enacted to enable girls to inherit land and protect the rights of widows and divorcees through the enactment of law on co-ownership of matrimonial property."

The First Lady however noted with satisfaction that free primary education has greatly improved access to school by the girl child to the extent that gender parity has been achieved.

She expressed confidence that when tuition fees are waived in secondary schools next year the enrolment of girls in secondary schools will also improve.

On HIV/AIDS the First Lady said it was unfortunate that the scourge had increasingly taken on a feminine face, and appealed to churches to play an even greater role by mobilizing their congregations to speak freely about HIV/AIDS.

"This will go along way in fighting the social stigma, extending compassion and providing spiritual and practical support to those infected and affected," she said.

Donors at the fundraiser included Minister Njenga Karume who sent shs.100,000, assistant minister Beth Mugo gave shs.160,000 which included shs.20,000 from Nyeri town MP P.G. Murethi, shs.10,000 each from Minister Amos Kimunya, assistant minister David Mwenje, MPs Norman Nyagah, Mukiri Macharia,Nderitu Gachagwa and Chris Murungaru, Lari MP Viscount Kimathi gave shs.20,000, retired moderator of the PCEA Rt. Rev. Dr. John Gatu donated shs.36,600 which included shs.50,000 from former President Daniel arap Moi, while the organising committee raised shs.612,520.