Naisula Josephine Lesuuda (born 30 April 1984), is a Kenyan politician and women's rights activist. She is a Member of the Parliament of Kenya.
Naisula Josephine Lesuuda (born 30 April 1984), is a Kenyan politician and women's rights activist. She is a Member of the Parliament of Kenya.
Lesuuda was born in Samburu on 30 April 1984, [1] the first of three children born to an Anglican bishop and a businesswoman. [2] She graduated from Daystar University with a degree in communications and community development. [1] [2] [3]
Lesuuda worked as a journalist at the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, including hosting Good Morning Kenya. [4] In 2009, after ten people were killed in cattle rustling in Laikipia, she became a founding member of the Laikipia Peace Caravan. [3] [1] [5] This in turn led to the founding of a number of other local peace organisations, supported by the Kenya government and USAid. [3] In 2010, her work with this organisation led to her becoming the youngest Kenyan woman to win the presidential Order of the Grand Warrior. [3] [6]
In 2013, Lesuuda left her job to found the Naisula Lesuuda Peace Foundation which advocates for the education of girls and for the eradication of female genital mutilation and child marriage. [4] [7] [3]
Lesuuda participated in President Uhuru Kenyatta's campaign in 2013, [8] and was then nominated on his TNA party ticket to represent Samburu County in the Senate in 2013, becoming its youngest female member. [4] [9] She was then elected Vice Chair of the Kenyan Women's Parliamentary Association.
In 2016, she announced that she would leave the Senate to seek election as a member of the National Assembly for Samburu West, [10] then in 2017 switching from the Jubilee to KANU party. [11] [8] She has maintained her support for Kenyatta. [9]
At the 2017 election, Lesuuda was elected with 14,560 votes, defeating incumbent Jonathan Lelelit who received 13,970 votes, [12] becoming the first female member of parliament for the Samburu West constituency. [13] [14] When parliament sat in August 2017, she announced her intention to apply for the position of Deputy Speaker, but failed to submit her application before the vote. [15] [16]
She was re-elected in Samburu West Constituency at the 2022 general election.
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