Listen to This Article Enhance your reading experience by listening to this article.

“Madam Fix It” is a title that best describes Safina Kwekwe, Principal Secretary (PS), Correctional Services. Since her childhood, she has been a mediator who fixed and negotiated sibling fights, and now in the public service, she finds herself handling situations that need a turnaround.

Kwekwe joined Public Service in 2018 when she was appointed to serve in the Gender Affairs department in the Ministry Of Public Service, Youth And Gender Affairs. She also had to serve in the public services unit, which was under the same ministry. She was picked at a time when the ministry was awash with negativity due to the National Youth Service money scandals and Kwekwe was among the people mandated to bring back its dignity.

In January 2020, Kwekwe was moved to Tourism, where two months later Covid-19 was declared a global pandemic and the tourism industry was the most affected sector worldwide. Again, she was at the centre of finding solutions and mechanisms for coping with the effects of the global pandemic, which saw almost a shutdown of the sector.

“I used my negotiations skills to bring stakeholders to the discussion table and ensure fairness among hotel owners and the employees because the entire industry was in distress,” she says.

Treating each case uniquely

And in December 2021, she was transferred to the Correctional Services department under the  Interior Ministry. She was sent to that particular department at a time when three terror prisoners had escaped from Kamiti Maximum Security Prison, which led to the sacking of several prisons officials.

At this department, Kwekwe says she has learnt to view life from different angles and to use her human instincts in resolving some of the problems. “We view prisoners as criminals, but I have learnt to treat them individually because each case is unique,” she notes.

Kwekwe says her priority is to get long-lasting solutions such as improving prison facilities, commercialising some of the projects such as furniture making for better returns and also investing in farming.

Aside from being a successful public servant, Kwekwe has been a go-getter since her childhood. Born in 1973 in a polygamous family in the Kinango area, Kwale county, Kwekwe lived with her maternal grandmother in Kilifi county and had to start school there. And when she moved back to her home in Kwale where she joined Mwangoni Primary School, she could not fit in well because she could not communicate in her mother tongue.

“I’m from Duruma and we spoke Giriama while in Kilifi. Many children laughed at me since I could not communicate in Duruma. I sought solace in books and consulting my teachers,” she says. This further helped her in keeping off the bad company.

She is from a community that doesn’t believe much in educating girls and by Class Six, most drop out of school to get married. It was unusual for girls to go beyond Class Seven, a notion she successfully challenged by going beyond primary school. “My community believed girls’ education was not a priority. But my late father valued education and he really motivated me,” she says.

Also, her elder sisters served as her role models since they had gone beyond primary school to join secondary school unlike most of their peers.

Despite her star shining bright, Kwekwe was a lonely girl because most of her peers felt her good performance was a result of favouritism from the teachers. But this did not deter her from pushing for a better life.

And due to her determination to break the cycle of going to local schools, she earned a place at the prestigious Alliance Girls in 1987. She was among the first girls to join such a good school from her community and she set the example so high for other girls.

Four years later, she performed well in her final exams to earn a place at the University of Nairobi to pursue Commerce. “No one in my family and even the entire zone had gone to university. On the day I was reporting to the university, various government officials came with gifts to see me off. That is still one of my best celebrations to date,” she says.

Making an impact

After earning her first degree, Kwekwe landed a job as a programme coordinator at ActionAid International where she served for seven years. In 2005, she was appointed coordinator for ActionAid Women’s Right project where she was mandated with developing guidelines on safe places for women and girls.

In 2007, Kwekwe successfully applied for a position at the East Africa Legislative Assembly (EALA) where she is remembered for pioneering the establishment of EALA’s women parliamentarian’s forum.

She served at the assembly for five years before moving back to civil society for a short stint. She joined the County Government of Kwale as the County Executive Committee (CEC) Industry, Trade and Co-operative development where she served until 2017.

And when she least expected it, an announcement to serve as a PS for Gender Affairs was made by President Uhuru Kenyatta. She was at her grandmother’s place and her phone was off. When she switched it on, she got messages from tens of people who had tried to call her.

“My heart skipped because my mum was sick at the time and I thought the worst had happened,” she says.

Family support

Her fears, however, were short-lived when congratulatory messages started popping on her phone. She learned she was picked for such a senior position.

She took the job, which saw her move from one ministry to the other, something she says has helped her build her networks and also honed her leadership skills.

Aside from missing some of her children’s milestones, the PS doesn’t have regrets about the career path she took. She says her spouse and children are the most understanding people in her life, who have had her back all through.

“One thing I always wished was for my dad to be alive and taste the fruit of his labour. Unfortunately, he died before seeing me succeed, but I have made sure my mother lives a comfortable life,” she says.