Aisha Jumwa, a former Malindi MP who refers to herself as the Mekatilili wa Menza of the 21st century and Shangazi wa Taifa, is one of the most talked about politicians from the coast. She has permeated from a humble background to a household name.
The former Kilifi Woman Representative was born in 1975 in Coast, after which she attended school at Takanga Primary School before moving to Murray Secondary School.
She continued on to Ganze Secondary but left in Form Two due to a lack of school fees. She gave birth to her first child during this period before resuming school again.
She graduated from Jomo Kenyatta University of Science and Technology with a degree in commerce, according to the records. She also has a governance credential from the same college.
She has wrestled her way from the moment she won the Takaungu ward seat as councillor in 1997, when she first entered politics, until her election as Malindi Member of Parliament. She was re-elected as a councillor in 2002.
Jumwa became the first Kilifi Woman Representative in 2013, which she won on an ODM party ticket and was later elected Malindi Township MP.
Her bid to succeed Amason Kingi as Kilifi Governor failed, and despite hinting to head to court, she conceded defeat. She garnered 65,893 votes against Gideon Mungaro’s 143,773 votes.
Now that a Cabinet job is on the table, she must overcome a criminal prosecution that is still pending in the Mombasa High Court.
In 2019, Jola Ngumbao, an Orange Democratic Movement supporter, was allegedly murdered by Jumwa and her helper, Geoffrey Otieno Okuto.