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ODM senator, Hezena Malmal Lemaletian, swears by yoga as her chosen fitness practice; adopted a new perspective after joining Parliament and is well on her way to owning a football club.
Coming after months of media silence on her part, one can appreciate the refreshing pace of politics she brings to a chat with this writer.
"Hezena means 'it's better to have one thing that's precious than so much of low value'," sound logic when shopping, she points out. "Lemaletian means somebody who blesses others and I have a Samburu middle name Malmal, it's that fragrance of frankincense."
She's fond of names people have called her through the years. Believing she was just as beautiful, the girls in high school nicknamed her 'Portia' after a character in Shakespeare's 'The Merchant of Venice' but Hezena most identifies with how Portia didn’t really like any of the men who tried to win her over.
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"My classmates somewhat thought I was beautiful but I was a tomboy, I thought I was more boyish than everybody else. They then selected me for a modelling contest, taught me how to catwalk, we even used white baby powder to make it look like I had makeup on and we won!"
She acknowledges the "over 1,000 short forms" of her name used by close friends - Hez, Zena, Zay, Ena and Zee.
BIOGRAPHY: Hezena Malmal Lemaletian
Are you a politician?
TLDR: Hezena describes herself as a 'lethal' politician going against the grain.
In 2022, Hezena aspired for the Samburu woman representative seat at the National Assembly but called off her campaign after persuasion to step down.
She had been propelled into elective politics by the blessing of her clan elders, support from her mom (who works with the Ministry of Agriculture in Samburu County) and a rousing speech delivered in a December 2021 Raila Odinga rally.
By the year 2020 came, her four-year reign as Miss Commonwealth Kenya had ended and she often reflects on a project which ended up fueling her passion and a dream of owning a competitive football team.
In 2018, as Miss Commonwealth Kenya, I started the Pastoralists Sports Initiative (PSI) and that's what graduated into the Hezena Lemaletian Foundation.
The whole idea was to have a program that used sporting activities to bring peace and cultural cohesion, infuse the [pastoralist] cultures and demystify some stereotypes. Growing up huwa tunaambiwa things like Waturkana ni wezi but I see someone like Dufla [Diligon, "Ukisonga mi nasonga na hiyo Tempo..." rapper] and I'm like, 'dude! Wewe sio mwizi!' And the like.
They get to interact, because that's something our communities don't do in the North. You think of us as all pastoralists but hatukaribiani, ni maadui. I'd hire schools, have a wing for girls and another for boys and they'd stay there for a week, sleep, eat, play and in the evenings I'd have upcoming musicians stage performances for them. Many of the young Samburu musicians you see today are under my foundation.
The first PSI tournaments started with ward level qualifiers then teams proceeded to constituency play offs where top three teams were selected to compete for five slots in the county level championship and the PasSport Cup title, during the weeklong camp.
"It would happen at the border of Samburu, Marsabit, Isiolo and Laikipia" by design, she explains, "Because in counties like Laikipia, not all communities are pastoralists. But huko mashinani, like where [Wildlife PS] Silvia Museiya comes from, Mukogodo Forest, there's still a remnant of the Maasais who fled southwards and these are the constituencies we target instead of all of Laikipia including Nyahururu and Nanyuki where there are mostly adu a nyumba. At the end of the day I was seeing new interactions, a new outlook of each other and they even started having intermarriages! Some time back the thought of a Samburu woman marrying a Turkana man was a disgust."
When the winning PSI team walked away with a Sh100,000 prize where other similar tournaments offered Sh30,000, Hezena earned her "Queen of the North" tag, this time being called by the people in her community.
I was not a politician, I was just a young girl and it shocked people. We had set a different trend, yaani, walipea hao watoto wa football heshima. After that, the governor's cup that followed also set the prize money at Sh100,000 like I had and it was a lesson for me on how to get people to do things.
She says she had "to learn how to be a politician" and admits it was a big change.
At that time, I was pursuing my passion to lead and change the lives of my people. But once I got into this office, which is a political office, I had to learn how to be a politician. So I'm now both a leader and a politician. A lethal politician!
You learn a lot as a politician. Being an activist, a citizen out there who knows their rights is different from being a politician holding a political office. You're going against a lot of currents, against the grain. As a young woman from a marginalised community, I've heard people asking 'what is a child doing here?' yet I'm a whole woman, how am I a toddler?! I'm trying to show that youth can be trusted with opportunities. You have to be a politician for your voice to be heard loud enough.
Are nominated leaders effective?
...is not in question for Hezena, but a number of comments left on Pulse Live Kenya's post here echo a question most Kenyans have on her "nominatedness".
There are different processes for getting leaders, nomination and the elections, at the end of the day we are all senators. The only difference is a nominated senator doesn't have a county office.
Those who get nominated are specially elected, in a very competitive process by the way, and they represent special demographics. I represent the youth and marginalised communities.
She considers the number of nominated women senators in the 13th Parliament a win, her current focus: "I try to change a lot of lives through employment, I think the ministries, NGOs, embassies are tired of me because I keep knocking on their doors. So far I've had 56 youths employed and I'd like to double that number this year, God willing."
She is resolute about vying for election in 2027, with her eyes set on "one of two top seats and when it's decided I'll announce the post". Perhaps, next year.
How do you honour your Samburu roots?
Funny enough, I am from Samburu County and I come from all three constituencies. Reason being, my family is from Baragoi which is in Samburu North. That's where the Lemaletians are. I grew up in Samburu West, Maralal the county headquarters, and mom still lives in the constituency to date. In high school, I went in Samburu East. So, anywhere I go in Samburu there's someone who says 'Hezena wetu' and I am for all of them.
Samburu customs, in the case of Senator Hezena's marital status, have been mistranslated. Nonetheless, this writer and her team endevoured to intrude on an aspect that she would otherwise prefer not to discuss.
We offered, "Given the legacy you have, a man is the last thing you'd like to talk about," and she concurred.
What can be confirmed: For a Samburu woman, a marriage proposal is considered in the context of her community. And just as Portia did in 'The Merchant of Venice', a marriage proposal can be rejected.
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