Dear Madam Governor Susan Kihika. What if I assume the role of Ramatoulaye and you that of Aissatou as we re-enact Mariama Ba’s So Long a Letter.

What if we accord ourselves an opportunity to talk freely – as age mates and confidants (if not as women) – as we analyse the issues eating us in modern-day Kenya?

Madam Governor, it is certain that you and I live in a world similar to that of Ramatoulaye and Aissatou. A world where family, women and womanhood play a role in nation building.

Ramatoulaye herself, while reflecting on the Senegalese situation she was engulfed in, says this to Aissatou: “the success of a nation depends inevitably on the family (since) the nation is made up of all the families, rich or poor, united or separate, aware or unaware”.

This is perhaps the reason ‘mother’ and ‘father’ are default titles for every holder of any electoral office here in Kenya, from the presidency down to the ward level. It is in this vein that you are the mother of Nakuru county.

Again, as in the world of Ramatoulaye and Aissatou, child-bearing and caretaking is of great importance. We go to great lengths to bear children and bring them up in the right way. Our absence from their lives is always frowned upon.

In the 2022 general election, you campaigned and won the Nakuru gubernatorial seat on a womanhood-motherhood card, or so do I assume. Your victory came with the victory of several other women. So sparkling was the moment that the county was branded Nakuru Girls and we marveled at the Mama moment it made as you officially became our Mama.

You surely took over well Mama. We saw and felt you. We cried and you came running, at least to some extent. Then ‘motherhood’ knocked at your door afresh and somehow, just somehow, our earlier arrangement with you got tilted.

You started disappearing, slowly but consistently until we couldn’t trace you anymore. When we pressed for your whereabouts, your chief of staff released a notice saying you were away on maternity leave.

Please don’t get it twisted. There was no problem with your going away for a maternity break, but the notice. It had several blunders that I only wish to explain to you one-on-one. Maybe this can happen at your will and liking when you come back.

Anyway, I am writing to you over this ‘noise’ that has started gathering here against you. I wanted to rubbish it off, but I discovered if you don’t address it, it might deny us – you and I, and a big bunch of your key supporters – an opportunity for a second round at Nakuru’s big office.

You see Mama, when we elected you, we were not gambling with our votes. Neither were we testing your power nor the power of women leadership. We had full trust in you. Even now, we are convinced you can easily make history as the first gubernatorial post holder in Nakuru to do a full marathon.

And now that you are a woman, imagine the kind of ‘double victory’ that would be. So far, you are still our best bet on crushing of ceilings, let alone gender ceilings. From being Nakuru’s inaugural Speaker, to Senator, and now Governor.

Imagine, you are the only leader in Nakuru who has so far gone through the full throttle of what we can aptly refer to as the ‘arms of devolution’. Now just give us a second term and our hearts shall be full.

So, kindly take the ‘noise’ being directed at you seriously. It is not because anyone hates you. It is not because anyone hates women and womanhood. Don’t see it as chauvinistic or patriarchal. In fact, stop listening to anyone giving you that kind of vibe, even that section of women colleagues at Parliament. Those are your real enemies.

Instead, find an intelligent way of communicating. Don’t be seen to be in defence mode. No one is fighting you. Just confer with us and we shall listen to you.

 Kioko Wa Kivandi is a journalist and journalism trainer.