Hanna Wendot Cheptumo, Nominee for Cabinet Secretary, Gender, Culture, The Arts and Heritage, has declared her family’s net worth at Ksh420 million

Appearing before the Committee on Appointments on the vetting of Cabinet Secretaries’ nominees on Monday, April 14, 2025, Wendot explained that the wealth includes what was owned by her late husband, the late Baringo Senator William Cheptumo.

According to Wendot, most of her family wealth is made up of residential houses and other family businesses.

“Our net worth as a family is Ksh420 million, made of our residential house in Karen is about Ksh100 million, and we have a residential house in Nakuru, Ksh15 million among others,” Wendot stated.

Ksh250,000 missing

While revealing her wealth, Wendot told the vetting committee that she had lost Ksh250,000, which was part of the vast wealth left behind by the late William Cheptumo.

She claimed that a credit cooperative deducted the money from William Cheptumo’s account, claiming that he had borrowed the said amount.

Wendot however did not delve deeper how it happened and action she had taken.

“By the way, Mr Speaker, part of what was supposed to be due to him has already been stolen. During the day we were having the church service, I was told that Ksh250,000 was borrowed by him. I was told who was having his phone, I said I was the one, so you are a beneficiary of corrupt dealings? I said, why? They said he had borrowed Ksh250,000, and already it has been spent, so it is less that,” Wendot stated.

Her vetting

During her vetting, the issue of gender-based violence and femicide dominated the discussions. MPs sitting in the committee of appointment demanded clear explanations on how she intended to address the issues.

Wendot proposed the integration of gender-based violence education into the school curriculum, which she argued would help children to start learning about respect, equality, and prevention from an early age.

She also pitched the idea of collaborating with different stakeholders to address the GBV issue.

“To effectively address gender-based violence, we will engage community leaders through churches, barazas, and county forums to encourage grassroots-driven solutions. Religious leaders in both mosques and churches will play a critical role in helping combat these harmful practices,” she stated.

“We will also work closely with elected leaders, including Members of Parliament, to strengthen efforts against gender-based violence. Additionally, we will ensure that gender desks at police stations are staffed by trained male or female officers, depending on the needs of the survivor, to provide sensitive and appropriate support,” she added.

Wendot also proposed the upscaling of boys’ mentorship to collectively end femicide and other forms of gender attacks in society.

On arts and culture, Wendot noted that if approved, she would push for the repatriation of various artefacts taken from various places in the country to other nations across the globe.

She also vowed to fight to various artists to get the rightful share of their creativity.