PERSON OF INTEREST POLITICS

Njambi Koikai: On a Mission After 19-Year Battle for Her Life

MARTIN SIELEFeb 1, 20222k

Known for her love of reggae music, Njambi Koikai is an acclaimed radio presenter and emcee. [Photo/ Facebook]

Mary Njambi Koikai is known to many Kenyans across the country as Fyah Mama Njamby – an icon of reggae music, radio and entertainment in Kenya.

She is gunning for the Dagoretti South parliamentary seat as an independent candidate in the General Elections scheduled for August 2022. On Monday, January 31, she broke down her plans for the constituency she was born and raised in.

That Njambi is making a stab at the seat is in itself a major milestone considering that she has been locked in a battle for her life for 19 years. Her struggle with Endometriosis is well documented. She underwent at least 10 surgeries in hospitals in and out of the country.

She returned to the public eye in 2020, which she dubbed her comeback year. While on the recovery journey, Njambi started hosting events and in 2021 got back to radio, as host of Trace na Doba on Trace FM. She has previously hosted shows on Metro FM and QFM in addition to organizing events through her own company Street Empire.

Njambi is also the holder of a degree in International Relations from the United States International University (USIU). She is keen on channeling all her knowledge and experience, including her health struggles, to improve conditions for residents of Dagoretti South.

Her plan for the constituency has five main pillars – jobs for youth and women, support for businesses, increased bursary allocations for education, water and health.

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“There is a high unemployment rate in Dagoretti South. We know our people can thrive and succeed if they have opportunities to do so, especially the youth and vulnerable groups in our community. I aim to create opportunities where our people can learn basic skills to help them earn a living.”

“The youth and women need expert guidance and support on how to plan, fund, start and run successful businesses, where they can employ themselves and others.

They need access to finance on patient and reasonable terms, to enable them to start and run these successful businesses,” Njambi shared.

Highlighting her own experiences on health, she noted that she would push for greater focus on reproductive health – including working with the Ministry of Health to formulate policies for training more specialists.

“I battled Endometriosis and Adenomyosis which are menstrual health related diseases for over 19 years and through this experience, I identified gaps in our healthcare system that motivated me to advocate for better access to healthcare for our communities in Dagoretti South and Kenya at large.

“Statistics indicate that 1 in 10 women are battling Endometriosis, a reproductive health disease where the lining of the uterus grows outside of the uterus. Many young girls and women have no access to skilled gynaecologists and treatment options are way out of reach,” she noted.

She also highlighted plans to promote sports and the digital economy as avenues of empowering the youth. Njambi further vowed to tackle water shortages faced by residents of the constituency.

“We can partner with local and national agents to find areas for public borehole creation. These boreholes with treated water are the start of improving our health and welfare. Without clean water and decent sanitation, there’s increased risk of illness and preventable death,” she stated.

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Written by

MARTIN SIELE -

Martin K.N Siele is the Content Lead at Business Today. He is also a Quartz contributor and a 2021 Baraza Media Lab-Fringe Graph Data Storytelling Fellow. Passionate about digital media, sports and entertainment, Siele also founded Loud.co.ke