Kenyans angered by Fox News host’s racist comment about pregnant Kenyan women

By Andrew Wasike

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) - Angry Kenyans took to social media Thursday to air grievances after Fox News host Emily Rose Compagno incorrectly claimed pregnant Kenyan women do not have the right to vote.

“She is talking about voting rights, that we have less voting rights? Or what about … in Kenya, where pregnant women cannot leave the house so they absolutely have no constructive rights to vote,” Compagno said during a panel discussion on celebrities commenting on politics.

Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Bommission (IEBC) made it clear that the elderly, people with disabilities and pregnant women hold their right to vote and are given priority due to their situations.

Ken Bett, a netizen, complained on his social media platform.

“Emily Compagno says that Pregnant women in Kenya can't leave the house and basically lack the right to vote. How and where exactly did she research and get the deets (details) from? She has never been to Kenya in the first place,” he said.

”In Kenya, if there is a right that everyone from the government to the common citizen respects is that of the elderly, disabled and pregnant women. This is a blatant lie that any Kenyan who doesn’t have a right to vote even knows. Kids know about this, this is a lie and all Kenyans are calling on Fox News and this woman to apologize.”

Kitui Governor Charity Ngilu who is also a women’s rights activist denounced the claim on social media.

Another netizen, Mbiyu, said that “Which Kenya are you talking about? Have you ever been to Kenya? I imagine not, because the Kenya I live in, pregnant women get to vote first.”

Kenyans will head to the polls Aug. 8 for the general elections where they will elect a new government for the next five years.