Kirinyaga Woman Representative Betty Maina. PHOTO: COURTESY
On August 24, 2023, Kirinyanga Woman Representative Njeri Maina claimed Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru attempted to kill her.
“Governor Anne Waiguru, why do you want to kill me? I know you’ve sent your goons Sh 30,000 each to go to hiding through your agent called Kings…” Honorable Maina posted on her Facebook page.
In response, Governor Waiguru sued her County’s Woman Rep, saying she had led the society to believe she is a murderer.
“In their natural and ordinary meaning, the words published by you mean and are understood by right thinking members of the society to mean that: our client is a murder, conspired to murder you, conspired with people to murder you, conspired with people to carry out criminal crimes and has no regard for the law. Our client is the Governor of Kirinyaga County and the Chairperson of the Council of Governors. She is held in public esteem by the public at large. Your recklessness has caused and continues to inflict damage to our client’s image and reputation,” read a notice from Governor Waiguru’s lawyers.
They also termed Honorable Maina’s claims as false, reckless and defamatory and demanded that she retract her statements, cease and desist from her unwarranted defamation of Governor Waiguru on any of her platforms and immediately publish an unconditional apology on the same platforms she published her accusations.
She was given 7 days from August 24, 2023, to comply or face legal proceedings regarding the matter.
Fast forward to August 28, 2023, Honorable Maina issued a statement on her critical relationship with the Governor as well as the suit filed against her.
“Partially, I studied in a boarding school. The bell would ring at around 4.30am, but because we had to fetch water to shower, sometimes I’d wake up earlier to make it to a better position on the long line. I was fairly new at the school when one day, I typically went to fetch water. My bucket was number three on the line, but I momentarily dashed to the nearby clothes-hanging lines to check if my blouse had dried. When I returned, my bucket had been pushed to number four, there was a different bucket that had skipped the line and it was halfway full. Pushing all of us who had woken up earlier a position behind.
I asked the other girls whose bucket it was and why they had let it skip the line, but they just spoke in low tones. Immediately, I swung to action, emptied that water into the bucket that was initially first, and put the bucket at the tail end of the line. Well, in good time, the owner of the bucket that had skipped the line did come, she asked where her bucket was, and I retorted that it was last in line as it should be. I still remember that girl, baffled, seething with rage, she was three times my size. She was the dormitory bully, but I wasn’t having it. I told her that if she had wanted to come first, she should have woken up earlier like the rest of us.
See, I have deep-seated contempt for bullies, people who have a condescending attitude towards others. People who think they’re more ‘people’ than others. I have absolutely no iota of time to entertain them, even if I’d wanted to, and unapologetically so. When I started my legal work, 90% of my cases were pro bono. Every time, I would walk into a courtroom and walk out with an extra non-paying client. People who were downtrodden, people whose cases no one wanted. I asked, if I can’t do it, who will? One day, my friend told me that I’d never make money, and we laughed about it. I kept saying that, that was the last pro-Bono file I’d take, but I kept pilling them up. I saw the difference it made in their lives, just to have someone care enough. Justice is an expensive affair for the regular Kenyan, we still need to bridge that gap and have some semblance of balance.
Now, back to this attachment (a news article on her and Governor Waiguru). I’ve realized that the space for women in politics is very volatile and toxic. Some of the status quo, mostly, want to edge you out. Who are you? Why are you here? Well, I am Jane Njeri wa Maina for beginners. Fortitude is my other name. I’ve no rich or famous parents, I grew up in a family of seven where we all had matching outfits. But my father put his foot down to give me the best education he could afford. I have actually worked so hard to just get here, and fortunately, God’s hands held me. I’ve never been summoned at any police station in my entire 29 years, but I’ve slept within the precincts of one as an advocate demanding for bail rights of their client.
In hindsight, I’m relieved the political wars I’ve been battling are on the national platform and the people who have financed, propagated, and orchestrated attacks on me severally are now being exposed. There are women who play coy and cultured when it suits them best. They pull the gender card and give moving speeches about supporting other women. While in reality, they are the impediment to other women succeeding in the political space. This is not the first time Anne has sent goons to assault a woman, matter of fact, the only elected female MCA in the county was undressed at some point by her agents. She rolls like that.
If you can’t support women in politics, just leave them alone! By the way, we just started milking the lions. Cue the violins and violas! It’s Django Jane, not Jane Doe,” said Honorable Maina.
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