When Sophia Oyweri 28 steps onto a political platform, she does not shy away from the microphone.
She readily speaks her mind, challenges the status quo and calls for a change that would see more women take their place in leadership in Kisii County.
But as she seeks to translate her convictions into political support ahead of the 2027 General Election, Oyweri faces another challenge beyond the familiar demands of campaigning: confronting male chauvinism in a political environment where women seeking elective office can find themselves having to prove their worth before they are even heard.
For the 28-year-old, the campaign is not simply about persuading voters to embrace her development agenda.
It is also about challenging attitudes that can make political participation more difficult for women.
She believes women should be judged by their ideas, integrity and ability to serve, rather than by their gender.
And beyond the political rallies and public meetings lies a more painful reality that has shaped her message: the daily struggles of residents who endure poor roads, unequal access to education funding and limited economic opportunities.
For Oyweri, the condition of roads in her Ichuni Ward home in Masaba South is more than a development concern.
It is a question of life and death, particularly for expectant mothers who must travel outside the ward to seek specialised care at a referral hospital.
“Imagine a woman going into labour in the middle of the night, with complications that require urgent medical attention, only for the family to discover that the road is impassable. Every minute matters when a mother and her unborn child are fighting for their lives,” she tells Nation Alert during an interview.
“The pain is that an expectant mother may have a hospital to go to, but getting there becomes another battle. How do you tell a family to rush a mother to hospital when the roads are in such a condition that even a vehicle struggles to pass?”
Oyweri argues that poor roads can delay emergency referrals, increase transport costs and expose pregnant women and their babies to avoidable risks.
“No mother should have to worry about whether she will reach a referral hospital safely because of the state of the road. We must make access to healthcare a priority, not a privilege,” she says.
These are among the concerns Oyweri wants addressed if voters elect her as their ward representative in 2027.
A graduate of Mathematics and Business Studies from Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology, she is positioning herself as a potential candidate in the ward's political contest. Her agenda centres on infrastructure, education, youth empowerment and accountable leadership.
“I believe our people deserve leadership that listens to them and understands their challenges. We cannot continue doing things the same way and expect different results,” she says during the interview in Ichuni.
Oyweri's political journey also brings into focus the difficulties women encounter when they venture into elective politics.
Male chauvinism, she believes, remains an obstacle to women's participation, particularly when political debates shift from issues and ideas to gender-based judgments about who should lead.
For a woman seeking votes in a contest traditionally dominated by men, earning recognition can become an uphill task. She must communicate her agenda while challenging perceptions that leadership is naturally a man's preserve.
The challenge is compounded by the expectations placed on women in public life, where their ambitions may attract scrutiny beyond the policies they propose.
Oyweri wants women to be given the same opportunity as men to articulate their visions, compete fairly and demonstrate their capacity to represent the electorate.
Her candidacy, therefore, places women's representation alongside the practical development concerns she hopes to address.
She argues that women bring perspectives shaped by their experiences in households and communities, including the struggle to pay school fees, meet healthcare costs and sustain families amid economic hardship.
“Women understand the struggles taking place in our homes. We know what it means when there is no money for food, school fees or hospital transport. Our voices deserve to be heard when decisions about development are made,” she says.
For Oyweri, greater representation should go beyond having women on political platforms.
It should mean giving them a meaningful opportunity to influence decisions on budgets, infrastructure and the distribution of public resources.
Road infrastructure tops her priorities. She wants feeder roads improved and maintained regularly to ease movement for farmers, traders, patients and schoolchildren.
Better roads, she argues, would connect farmers to markets, reduce transport difficulties and make schools and health facilities more accessible.
“You can imagine the embarrassment of being close to a big market like Keroka and still lacking proper access roads. It is shameful,” she says, criticising incumbent ward representative Wycliffe Siocha over what she considers inadequate attention to the problem.
For rural families, she says, a road is not merely a strip of earth or gravel. It determines whether farm produce reaches the market on time, whether children get to school during the rainy season and whether a patient can reach medical care without unnecessary delays.
Education is another pillar of her proposed agenda.
Concerned about bursary allocation, Oyweri wants a transparent system with clear eligibility criteria, fair distribution and proper communication with applicants.
“Children from poor families should not be denied an opportunity to learn because their parents cannot afford school fees. Bursaries must reach the learners who genuinely need them,” she says.
She also wants young people connected to vocational training, entrepreneurship opportunities and practical skills that can support self-employment.
Stronger links between youth, local businesses and government programmes, she argues, could help turn skills into sustainable livelihoods.
Oyweri further wants ward development guided by residents’ priorities, with public participation, transparent budgeting and regular reporting on projects to help communities track how public resources are used.
Her political ambition comes with a critical assessment of the ward’s previous representation. She argues that two successive male representatives have failed to meet residents’ expectations, a claim that forms part of her challenge to the established political order.
As the 2027 elections approach, Oyweri faces the task of translating her priorities into practical, costed proposals and explaining how she would work with county authorities to deliver them.
She must also persuade voters that her proposals are achievable while navigating the gender-related barriers she says women face in politics.
For Ichuni residents, the issues are tangible: passable roads, safer journeys to referral hospitals, fair access to bursaries and meaningful opportunities for young people.
For Oyweri, the test of leadership begins with addressing these everyday struggles. Her political journey also raises a wider question about whether women can compete on equal terms in an arena where gender can still shape how their ambitions are received.
Ultimately, she wants her ideas to be judged on their merit—and for no woman to be dismissed as a leader simply because she is a woman.
