The National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC) has established a Division of Male Engagement to reach men who fall between the constitutional definitions of youth and older persons and who have no dedicated support from Government.

The division will also run interventions for young men, men with disabilities, older men and men from minority and marginalised communities. It will be headed by Mr Lewis Mwaniki, who has moved to the Commission’s headquarters from the Nakuru Regional Office, where he served as Regional Head, and who will coordinate its activities with a dedicated team. Mr Douglas Wawire has taken over as Nakuru Regional Head.

THE MEN IN BETWEEN

Article 260 of the Constitution defines youth as persons who have attained the age of 18 but not 35, and an older member of society as a person who has attained the age of 60. Each definition anchors programmes, funds and affirmative action measures.

Men in their late thirties, forties and fifties fall between the two. The Constitution makes no specific provision for them as a special interest group, and no structured empowerment forum exists for them.

The Commission has observed that this group, the most productive in the economy, struggles to reach Government opportunities such as empowerment funds and programmes. 

The same gap leaves them exposed. The Commission has observed that men in this age group are vulnerable to exploitation in criminal activity and substance abuse, and that they feature among perpetrators of gender-based violence. Reaching them through economic inclusion and dialogue is central to the division’s purpose.

VOICES FROM KAHARATI

In Kaharati village, Murang’a County, men gathered in 2025 for a Commission public education forum addressed by Commissioner Dr. Michael Nzomo, PhD. They spoke openly about concerns men seldom raise in public: how power is shared in households where women have been empowered, their role as heads of families and providers, and the pressure of providing for their families with few economic openings.

Kaharati was one of many such conversations. Since the current Commission leadership assumed office in December 2024, the Chairperson, Hon. Rehema Dida Jaldesa, has consistently advocated for men’s voices in the gender equality agenda and has ensured that men are heard and given a platform across the Commission’s forums and grassroots engagements. Economic empowerment has featured prominently in every forum the Commission has convened.

A LONGSTANDING CONCERN 

During his parliamentary vetting in November 2024, Commissioner Dr. Michael Nzomo, PhD raised concern that the boy child had been neglected. During the debate on the Commission’s new leadership, Members of the National Assembly also stressed that gender equality includes addressing the needs of both the boy child and the girl child. The Commission has previously published a report on the status of the boy child. 

The new division carries that work into a structured programme. Its mandate rests on the Commission’s statutory duty to promote gender equality and freedom from discrimination for all persons, including men in every age group and special interest group. 

For the men who spoke in Kaharati, and for millions of Kenyan men between 35 and 60, the division means their concerns now have a dedicated home within the Commission, with a team charged with acting on them.