In a bold step to confront the systemic oppression endured by widows in Siaya county, Jaoko Oburu Odinga has championed a multi-agency alliance aimed at securing both legal and economic safeguards for thousands of vulnerable women. Jaoko Oburu has signed a pact that will ensure justice for women and widows in Siaya county. Photo: Jaoko Oburu. Source: Facebook Jaoko, who is the Special Advisor to the President on Economic Empowerment and Sustainable Livelihoods, was attending a Widows Empowerment Programme organised by the office of the Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology in Bondo on Sunday, December 28.
What are the key issues faced by Siaya widows? In a document obtained by TUKO.co.ke, a detailed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on the sidelines of the widows empowerment drive unites the Executive Office of the President with Access Justice Kenya (AJK) and the Siaya Community Digital Hub (SCDH) to fight ‘rampant property disputes’ and ‘harmful cultural traditions’ that have long plagued the region. The MoU highlights a grim reality in Siaya: widows frequently face land dispossession, threats of eviction, and violence following the death of their spouses. “These practices and abuses violate their fundamental rights, stripping them of dignity and constitutionally guaranteed human rights. The entrenched traditions favour male relatives, leading to rampant property disputes and violation of widows’ rights,” the document read. Under the framework, this new alliance will provide a ‘formidable partnership’ to protect widows’ fundamental rights and dignity.
”This MOU merely constitutes a statement of the mutual intentions of the parties… to establish a framework for collaboration in supporting, protecting, and defending the widows and women’s rights in Siaya county,” the document added. How will legal warfare support widows in Siaya? The two-year agreement, which runs through December 2027, focuses on three immediate areas of impact: legal warfare, digital and economic defence and awareness clinics. Access Justice Kenya (AJK) will deploy a network of lawyers to provide free legal services and litigation for widows in civil, succession, and criminal matters. The Siaya Community Digital Hub will identify affected widows and provide the digital tools necessary to monitor cases and manage table banking records. Joint teams will organise legal aid clinics to educate women on their specific rights regarding inheritance, marriage, and property ownership. To ensure the promises made in Siaya translate into action, Jaoko’s office will oversee a Joint Implementation Committee.
This committee is tasked with setting annual coverage targets and developing data-sharing protocols to track every case of a widow in distress. The signing ceremony was a high-stakes affair, with the document also bearing the signatures of Tabitha Ogutu (CEO, Siaya Community Digital Hub), Okoyo Gabriel (Director of Litigation, AJK), and Oduor Odinga (Legal Director, Office of the Special Advisor to the President). What areas do widow empowerment programs cover? PS Omollo’s Widows Empowerment Programme, which has directly transformed the lives of more than 22,000 widows, has expanded to Kisumu, Uasin Gishu, Sugoi, Turbo, Ndaragwa, Makueni, Laikipia West, Mwala, Kuria West, and Isiolo North, providing housing and business support to women in these regions. PS Raymond Omollo says more than 22,000 widows have been transformed through the Widow Empowerment Programme. This has fostered economic independence and household security. The programme also promotes environmental conservation by providing fruit and tree seedlings to 69 women’s groups, creating long-term income opportunities through timber, fruit, and fodder.
By Nancy Odindo
