Caroline Cheptoo: Why I stood up to MPs at Bomas during Gachagua impeachment public participation

From the greetings to the warm reception she gets, Cheptoo is well known in this area. And she is not alone. Together with her three friends, they are true residents of Mukuru kwa Ruben. 

These ladies came to the limelight recently when they, especially Cheptoo, stood up to leaders who were conducting public participation exercises at the Bomas of Kenya in the impeachment of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. 

Cheptoo, particularly, attracted the attention of the nation when she took the microphone and read the riot act to the MPs who were leading the exercise, led by Ruaraka MP TJ Kajwang and his Dagoretti North counterpart Beatrice Elachi.

“You’ve called us here because you are keen on this impeachment, you want our views because this is something that excites you. But if it was about important national issues, you wouldn’t call us here or anywhere,” Cheptoo yelled as the crowd cheered her on. 

Efforts to silence her fell on deaf ears as the crowd urged her to continue. She went on to narrate how the political class has neglected the common mwananchi and concentrated on unnecessary issues like Gachagua’s impeachment. 

All along, she was flanked by her three friends, Catherine Mutheu, Beth Njeri and Caroline Ngina. They encouraged her to continue speaking.

“These politicians think we are a joke. They only want us when they have issues that touch on them, but when we need them, they are nowhere to be found. Why didn’t they engage us on issues like Adan and JKIA? Where were they?” Cheptoo questioned in an exclusive interview with Citizen Digital.

“That is why we went there to tell them the truth. And the truth is that all these politicians must go when time comes in 2027, starting with the president. We need new and fresh leadership that minds the common mwananchi,” she added. 

But their Bomas outburst is not what makes these ladies popular here in Mukuru kwa Ruben. This only helped to fuel their popularity further. 

The four ladies, together with seven others, have been feeding street kids in Mukuru slums, using their little resources, even as they also take care of their own families. It is an initiative, Cheptoo says, that they started after seeing how kids from poor families were suffering in Mukuru. 

“On the roads you would find kids asking for food, others loitering, missing school and even others involved in petty crimes. We thought it wise to start providing meals for them once in a week, as a way of helping these kids,” Cheptoo said. 

The group, which calls itself Ladies on the Move, pooled resources and started cooking food for the kids every Saturday, at the open Mukuru kwa Ruben grounds. 

“We use money from our own pockets. I hawk perfumes here in the slums, so the little money I get, I set aside something for the feeding programme. My colleagues too do the same. Also, we get some well wishers who give us things like cooking oil, maize flour and even vegetables whenever we are cooking,” Cheptoo added.

One of the well wishers is Joseph Kimani, a resident who operates a small kiosk near Mukuru kwa Ruben grounds. Every Saturday, Kimani gives either unga or a litre of cooking oil to help with the initiative.

“I support where I can because I also have kids who need food every day. This is the only way we can bring change to our community. I’m also a coach so after meals I train kids interested in football here in this field,” Kimani said. 

Cheptoo and her colleagues look forward to continue supporting the street kids, and are calling for well-wishers to come on board to help feed more children in Mukuru kwa Ruben. 

For now, their advice to the youth is that they should not relent on calling out and putting on check the political class. They believe change is coming soon.