Health Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) Mercy Mwangangi has opened up about being in a toxic relationship.
The youthful government official says she was once in an abusive relationship with a man she hoped to start a family with.
She had just completed her studies at Australia’s University of Adelaide, where she earned a master’s degree in Health Economics and Policy, when the lover nearly went physical with her.
It was a calm, cold night sometime in 2015. The couple had a disagreement over an undisclosed matter and everything turned ugly thereafter.
The 36-year-old recalls the enraged boyfriend started beating the walls and she didn't know what to do to save her skin. She was just 29.
Mwangangi calls lawyer
Scared to death, the medic decided to call her lawyer.
“That night at 3 am when we had the altercation, I remember thinking, okay so this has happened, whom should I call?" Mwangangi said.
"And interestingly the first person I called was my lawyer to see if there was a legal recourse. He was beating walls around me. He was enraged and there was a lot of scuffling," she added.
Mwangangi spoke on Wednesday, June 8, 2022, during the Gender-Based Violence Prevention and Response scientific conference at the Kenya School of Government in Nairobi.
The CAS said she shared the story to encourage women or anyone battling abuse to speak out. She noted that gender abuse could happen to anyone in society even empowered women.
“I remember thinking I am an empowered 29-year-old woman. How could this happen to me?” I am privileged that I am not from a poor background, and I have resources. I am educated. I have my own home, an apartment, my own car, and everything I needed to empower myself to be an independent female,” she said.
“So it can happen to any of us be it male, be it female, young or old.”
According to her, abuse doesn't have to be physical assault.
"Before they bite, they bark. Before they hit you, they hit near you," she quoted American author Stephanie Landon.
Mwangangi opens up about supportive partner
In 2020, when she shot into the limelight at the height of Covid-19, Mwangangi, told a local publication that she was seeing someone.
She heaped praises on the man she described as 'very supportive'.
“I am highly married to my work, but I do have a partner who is very supportive, and he is another cheerleader in my court."
