Six women join Parliament from county assemblies
What you need to know:
- The County Assemblies Forum on Tuesday congratulated its members who were elected to higher positions in the August 9 General Election.
- One of the six is Beatrice Elachi, who became Nairobi assembly speaker on September 6, 2017, but resigned on August 11, 2020, after wrangles with then-Governor Mike Sonko and some MCAs.
Six women have advanced from the county assemblies to the National Assembly. This is according to the County Assemblies Forum, which congratulated its members on Tuesday for being elected to higher positions in the August 9 General Election.
Five are former members of the county assembly (MCAs) and one is a former speaker.
Beatrice Elachi became Nairobi assembly speaker on September 6, 2017. On August 11, 2020, she resigned after wrangles with then-Governor Mike Sonko and a section of MCAs who opposed her leadership. In the concluded polls, she rose from the ashes to become the only elected woman Member of Parliament from Nairobi. She won the Dagoretti North constituency seat, trouncing 13 other opponents in a landslide win.
In Mandera County, Umulkheir Kassim won the woman representative seat. Prior to the August polls, she was a two-term nominated MCA. She is the former chairperson of the women caucus of the Frontier Counties Development Council (FCDC). The FCDC is a forum for peace and socioeconomic development in Northern Kenya. Ms Kassim also served as the chair of the Gender, Youth and Social Services Committee in the Mandera assembly. While campaigning, she pledged to fight early marriages and female genital mutilation (FGM).
Cynthia Muge was declared Nandi woman representative. Before then, she was Kilibwoni MCA. She won on an independent ticket at only 24 years. A graduate of the University of Nairobi, she holds a Bachelor’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning and a Master’s in Project Planning and Management. While at the assembly she moved, among others, a motion to compel the Transport and Infrastructure department to ensure proper drainage during road construction and maintenance.
In Tharaka Nithi, Susan Ngugi Mwindo was declared the woman representative. She was had been MCA for Marimanti ward. She was one of two women who were elected to the county assembly in 2017. Like Ms Elachi, she returns victorious after a tumultuous term as the assembly’s deputy speaker that ended in her impeachment in 2019.
Fatuma Masito will join Parliament after winning the Kwale woman representative seat. She was a nominated MCA on the Orange Democratic Movement party ticket. Ms Masito, a vocal politician, served as chairperson of the Labour and Social Welfare Committee of the assembly. During her campaigns, she vowed to fight for the rights of women.
Leah Sopiato, who won the Kajiado woman representative seat, was a nominated MCA in 2013. She founded the Maasai Women Against Violence Development, an organisation that champions girls’ education, fights FGM and empowers women. In 2017, she was appointed as chief of staff and later on as chief of protocol in the Kajiado government.
