Dr Dianah Kamande HSC, Honoured as National Heroine as She Leads Historic Push For Widow's in Kenya

 

Come Together Widows and Orphans Organization (CTWOO) is celebrating a major national milestone as its Founder and Executive Director, Dr. Dianah Kamande, HSC, was honoured as a National Heroine during the 2025 Mashujaa Day celebrations. This recognition celebrates her thirteen years of unwavering advocacy for the rights, dignity, and empowerment of widowed persons across Kenya.

Since founding CTWOO in 2013, Dr. Kamande has transformed widowhood from a subject of silence and stigma into one of visibility, empowerment, and justice. Guided by her own lived experience, she has built a national movement that now operates in all 47 counties, providing psychosocial support, legal aid, and economic empowerment to thousands of widows and orphans.

“This recognition belongs to every widow whose courage keeps families and communities together,” said Dr. Kamande. “We are not just talking about widowed persons as a group that exists; we want to ensure that they finally count in Kenya’s story of progress.”

Leading a Historic Legislative Agenda

Under Dr. Kamande’s leadership, CTWOO is spearheading the development of the Proposed Widowed Persons Protection Bill, 2025 — a landmark national legislation that seeks to safeguard the rights, dignity, and welfare of widowed persons in Kenya.

With an estimated 8 million widows across the country — many of whom face property disinheritance, eviction, and social exclusion — the proposed Bill aims to address decades of invisibility in Kenya’s laws and national planning.

The Bill focuses on five key areas:

1. Protection from Harmful Cultural Practices: Criminalizing degrading traditions such as widow cleansing, forced widow inheritance, and property eviction.
2. Securing Property and Inheritance Rights: Guaranteeing widowed persons the right to remain in their matrimonial homes and inherit property without harassment.
3. Access to Justice, Social Protection, and Empowerment: Establishing a Widowed Persons Empowerment Fund to support legal aid, trauma counselling, and business start-ups.
4. Data and Recognition: Mandating the registration and inclusion of widowed persons in national and county statistics for effective policy and budgeting.
5. Institutional Support and Accountability: Creating a Widowed Persons Protection Board to coordinate implementation and ensure accountability at national and county levels.

A Call to Action

CTWOO is urging:

• Government agencies to fast-track the passage of the Bill into law.
• Development partners to support data collection, legal aid, and economic empowerment programmes.
• County governments to integrate widows’ welfare into County Integrated Development Plans (CIDPs).
• Media and civil society to amplify the voices and stories of widowed persons in public discourse.

Dr. Kamande’s recognition as a National Heroine not only celebrates her personal achievements but also underscores a national awakening — one that acknowledges widowhood as a human rights and development priority.

As Kenya honours its heroes, CTWOO reminds the nation that behind every strong community are widowed women whose resilience sustains families, preserves culture, and drives change.

— Ends —

For more information, contact:
Come Together Widows and Orphans Organization (CTWOO)
Email: info@ctwoo.or.ke | Website: www.ctwoo.or.ke
Social Media: @CTWOO_Kenya

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