Nominated Senator Karen Nyamu told Senators, Meru County Members of the County Assembly, and Kenyans in general, that it was time they got used to having "first gentlemen" in the counties going forward.
She made the remarks on Friday, December 30, 2022, special sitting of the Senate.
Senators were allowed to make remarks after the House adopted a report that reversed the impeachment of Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza.
"The matter of first gentlemen is going to be a normal occurrence in this country going forward," she said, adding "because a lot of us have ambitions to be governors in this country, and so our spouses should not be victimized."
Nyamu's comments were met with muted applause in the Senate.
Her remarks came after the Senate decided not to impeach Governor Mwangaza, despite accusations of gross misconduct, abuse of office, conflict of interest, and nepotism from the Meru County Assembly.
In the ongoing conflict between the assembly and Governor Mwangaza, her husband, Murega Baichu, was drawn into the drama and used as one of the reasons for the assembly's push to impeach the governor.
Days after taking office, Governor Mwangaza named her husband as the county's Youth Patron and Hustler's Ambassador. She later had to clarify that the appointment was not a paid position.
Baichu later claimed that he was victimized by the Meru County Assembly, who banned him from sleeping in the governor's official residence, entering the governor's office, and using any vehicles attached to the governor's office.
The governor’s husband described the treatment as gender-based violence.
Kenya currently has 47 women representatives, 30 female Members of Parliament, three female senators, and seven elected female governors.
None of their spouses has faced similar public criticism as Baichu in the past few months.