Taita Taveta Governor Andrew Mwadime faces fierce public backlash after controversial remarks made during his June 18, 2025, appearance before the Senate’s County Public Accounts Committee in Nairobi. 

While responding to audit queries on the county’s 2023/2024 financial statements, Mwadime attempted to illustrate his county’s resource exploitation through an ill-conceived metaphor that quickly went viral. 

“In Taita Taveta, people come and marry our very beautiful girls and leave us with the short and quarrelsome ones,” Mwadime said, trying to compare the region’s mineral extraction by outsiders to social exploitation. 

Senators immediately rebuked the governor for his sexist remarks. Isiolo Senator Fatuma Dullo demanded an immediate apology, while committee chair Moses Kajwang questioned the logic, asking, “Who said short girls are not beautiful?” Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei advised the governor to stick to Kiswahili in future engagements. 

Comments ridiculed 

Though Mwadime apologised, his comments had already sparked national outrage, circulating widely online, where they were ridiculed and condemned for reinforcing harmful stereotypes. 

Back home, criticism intensified. Social media platforms buzzed with condemnation from women and civil society groups who felt the governor had demeaned women across the county. 

Media and advocacy specialist Patience Nyange issued a strongly worded statement expressing her disappointment: “Such comments are not only inappropriate, but also deeply sexist and disrespectful to women across the county and beyond. As a leader, the governor’s words carry weight. Reducing women to physical attributes and personality stereotypes undermines their dignity and reinforces dangerous gender norms.” 

Nyange demanded a formal public apology and urged the county government to commit to gender sensitivity training for all public officials. “No woman should be judged or dismissed based on her height, looks or perceived temperament,” she said. 

Former deputy governor Majala Mlagui also criticised the remarks: “Yes, our county faces serious developmental challenges, from low revenue to limited support from the exchequer. But that does not justify reducing women to caricatures. Development must go hand in hand with respect, dignity, and inclusivity.” 

Source of frustration  

Beneath the controversy lies a county plagued by marginalisation and historical land injustices. The governor’s frustrations reflect widespread regional sentiment about underdevelopment and systemic neglect. 

“Taita Taveta accounts for over 70 per cent of all human-wildlife conflict cases in the country,” Mwadime told the Senate committee.

“We are a water-rich county, but most of the water ends up in other regions. We’re left struggling.” 

Governance expert Prof Fred Ogola highlighted the county’s plight at a recent Mombasa press briefing: “Taita Taveta is the most sidelined among the coastal counties. Roughly 62 per cent of the county’s land is controlled either by the Kenya Wildlife Service or private ranchers. Locals live as squatters.” 

Educational inequalities have complicated the problem. “How can the entire Coast region have just three universities while Nairobi boasts over 17? These inequalities are deliberate,” Ogola said. 

Daily struggles 

In Mwatate sub-county, land conflict shapes daily life. Villages like Aliya and Mwachabo have seen women turn to crushing rocks for ballast after repeated elephant invasions made farming impossible. 

“Farming used to be our life,” said quarry worker Harriet Maghuwa. “But these days, elephants destroy everything. Crushing stones is now our only option.” 

Residents accuse KWS of fencing off vast areas, including schools and homes, effectively trapping communities within protected zones.  

Elvis Mwadime, a Mwachabo resident, described his predicament: “They didn’t even leave a gate. My house is inside the fenced zone. I have to crawl under the electric fence just to get out. My wife was once arrested with our baby because they said she damaged a KWS pole.”