Joylene Cherono Kosgey has rolled up her sleeves and stepped out of the lecture halls into the murky world of politics, seeking to become the second woman governor of Bomet County.
Dr Joyce Cherono Laboso, a political trailblazer, paved the way for women leaders in the county when she defeated former Council of Governors chairperson Isaac Ruto in the 2017 General Election to become the county’s second governor. Dr Laboso, however, succumbed to cancer on July 29, 2019, at The Nairobi Hospital, where she was undergoing treatment after a two-month stay in the United Kingdom and India—barely two years after assuming office.
Joylene, a former lecturer at the University of Kabianga, Maasai Mara University and Bomet University, is pursuing a PhD in entrepreneurship. She holds a master’s degree in entrepreneurship from the University of Kabianga, a professional certification in secretarial practice and a bachelor’s degree in business management.
“I am gunning for the Bomet gubernatorial position in the 2027 General Election through a United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party ticket. I am confident that I will clinch the party ticket in the nomination early next year,” she said in an interview on Monday.
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She is a former economic adviser and gender adviser in Bomet County, positions that gave her an insight into the challenges facing residents and the kind of leadership needed to address them head-on. She says she has made a conscious decision to run for elective office to have a direct socioeconomic impact on society.
Unlike in other parts of the South Rift region, the gender question does not arise on the campaign trail in Bomet because Dr Laboso had blazed the trail and become the first woman Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly. Former assistant ministers for Home Affairs Beatrice Kones and Lornah Chepkemoi Laboso also paved the way for women in elective leadership, having been the first women MPs for Bomet East and Sotik, respectively.
“Voters in Bomet have no issue with one’s gender. Even the stereotypes were dealt with in previous elections and have become irrelevant. We are competing on an equal footing with men in the political space,” Joylene said.
She will face former governor Isaac Ruto, former senator Christopher Langat, former chief officer of administration and acting county secretary Kilelson Mutai, and Dr Michael Bongei, a strategic management expert, among other aspirants, in the UDA nomination.
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“My campaign is anchored in transformative leadership and inclusivity, which are required to take the county government to the next level in development planning and execution. The strategy is to mainstream public participation in the planning, funding and implementation of development programmes,” Joylene said.
She said she was inspired by Dr Aurelia Rono, the Principal Secretary for Parliamentary Affairs in the Office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary, who was a nominated member of the county assembly, a university lecturer and a member of the UDA National Election Board.
Many have tried to persuade her to run for the woman representative seat, but she remains focused on the gubernatorial race, saying the office has a direct influence on residents’ socioeconomic wellbeing. While her competitors are men with substantial financial resources in a contest that requires a well-oiled campaign machine, Joylene is undeterred, despite relying on well-wishers and personal savings to finance her campaigns.
Her competitors travel with a retinue of bodyguards and bouncers, but Joylene drives herself to functions, usually accompanied by an assistant, and makes donations at fundraisers without fanfare. She believes a leader should teach people how to catch fish rather than make them dependent on others to provide it.
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“Campaigns and elections should not be dictated by how much money one has, but by the ideas and manifesto one puts forward. The resolve to deliver on the agenda for the benefit of the people should be the key consideration,” Joylene said.
She has left voter mobilisation to the youth and women who believe in her development agenda and says she is not swayed by the crowds her competitors attract at functions and roadshows. “Experience has taught me that the crowds at political rallies do not necessarily translate into votes. The votes are at polling stations, in villages, sub-locations and locations. Some people attend rallies purely for entertainment and are not necessarily committed to the ideas of the politicians they cheer.”
She said she had gained sufficient experience in academia and public service, having served as director of gender and social services in the county government.
“If elected governor, my top priority will be to address challenges in the agriculture sector, including introducing a subsidy programme for seeds, seedlings and animal feed to boost production, promote value addition and create employment. We will focus on high production in areas with strong returns, including coffee, dairy, beef, poultry, avocado and horticulture,” she said.
Great potential
“Bomet has great potential for agribusiness because of its geographical location and diverse climatic zones. Deploying the latest agricultural technologies to boost production and linking farmers directly to export and local markets are key to economic development.
“The national government has provided subsidies in the agriculture sector, particularly for fertiliser, and county governments should bridge the remaining gaps by subsidising animal feed production, assisting cooperatives to produce in large quantities and sell to residents at lower prices.”
Joylene said the move would enable more farmers to increase production, address food insecurity, improve their economic status and create jobs across agricultural value chains. She said the health sector should be one of the pillars of development, with dispensaries and health centres in rural areas upgraded, made functional, stocked with medicines and adequately staffed.
“People in rural areas with minor health problems should be treated within their localities rather than having to travel to sub-county and county referral hospitals.”
Key facilities
Maternal and child health, she said, should receive the resources it deserved to curb perinatal deaths, while ensuring that the wider population remained healthy and could access services at public medical facilities. Infrastructure and water availability were also essential to development and directly affected economic growth, making them key elements of her agenda.
With the population growing, she said, urban planning, particularly in Bomet town and the trading centres of Longisa and Merigi, needed to be reviewed. Student populations drive growth in the property and other sectors in these areas.
Bomet town hosts 12,106 students at Bomet University, while Merigi trading centre has more than 6,000 students at Sot Technical Institute. The institute’s elevation to a national polytechnic is expected to double that number. Longisa trading centre is home to Longisa County Referral Hospital and the Kenya Medical Training College.
“Our towns need proper planning as agricultural land is converted into commercial plots. Some decisions must be made now to avoid haphazard construction, which would make it difficult to expand roads and lay sewerage systems, water pipelines and electricity infrastructure in the future.”
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Vocational training centres should be properly equipped and staffed, and upgraded to attract more students and improve learners’ technical skills. Education is partly devolved, with county governments responsible for vocational training centres and early childhood development education, while the national government oversees basic and higher education.
“Empowering women, the youth and persons with disabilities to start income-generating projects through cooperative societies should be embedded in the development agenda, with members receiving training in financial management,” she said. “The one-ward, one-agricultural-value-addition-project initiative should become a reality to spur economic growth across the five sub-counties — Bomet East, Bomet Central, Sotik, Chepalungu and Konoin. This will ensure that no region is left behind in development.”
Not everyone agrees that a woman should take over the county’s leadership.
“We need experienced political hands to steer Bomet to the next level of development, as the current administration under Professor Hillary Barchok has failed the people. Bomet certainly does not need a political greenhorn, an academic or a woman. We have had that with Dr Laboso and Prof Barchok, and we do not want to go back there.
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“What academicians and women have taught us in the past is that they fail to take firm positions on serious matters relating to economic development. They are easily swayed by positions taken by the national government, to the detriment of residents,” said Erick Langat, a businessman at Silibwet trading centre.
However, Janeth Chepkorir, a teacher, said the county needed a professional woman to take over from the current governor, who is leaving office after serving two consecutive terms and is therefore constitutionally barred from seeking a third term.
“We need a focused leader who understands the needs of the people and is ready to engage professionals, residents and all stakeholders to find solutions and take the county to the next level of development,” she said.
“A woman would be the most suitable candidate for the position. Dr Laboso set the bar high for women leaders. She demonstrated that women provide better leadership than their male counterparts.”