Beatrice Elachi is a Kenyan politician who currently serves as the member of parliament for Dagoretti North constituency. Prior, she served as

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

of the Nairobi County Assembly from 6 September 2017 until her resignation on 11 August 2020. As Speaker of the Nairobi County Assembly, she replaced ''Alex Ole Magelo'', who did not contest his seat. Immediately prior to her election, she was the Majority Whip in the Kenya Senate.

Background and education

She was born in Kakamega in a family with four children. She attended ''St. Teresa’s Primary School'' for her elementary education. She then transferred to ''Moi Girls Vokoli High School'', in

Vihiga County Vihiga County is an administrative region in the former Western Province of Kenya whose headquarters are in Mbale, the largest town in the county. The county has a population of 554,622 (2009 census) and an area of 563 km2. Formally a di ...

, for he secondary education. She was then admitted to

Africa Nazarene University Africa Nazarene University is a private Christian-founded university in, Kenya, and an affiliate of ''The Church of the Nazarene Colleges and Universities'' around the world. Africa Nazarene University is fully accredited by the Commission for Un ...

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

, the

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

and largest city in Kenya. She graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in Peace and Security Studies. She went on to obtain a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree in the same subject, also from Africa Nazarene University.

Career before politics

Prior to 2003, Beatrice worked as a Programs Officer for the United Nations Program for Women (UN Women), in collaboration with the

National Council of Women of Kenya The National Council of Women of Kenya (NCWK) was founded in 1964 to provide coordination among the various women's groups in Kenya. These included groups as varied as the National Nurses Union, Nairobi Business Women, East African Women's League, ...

and the Collaborative Centre for Gender and Development. She worked as a trainer of women parliamentarians, in collaboration with the United Nations Program for Women, between 2003 and 2010. From 2010 until 2013, she served as the

Secretary General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

of the

Alliance Party of Kenya The Alliance Party of Kenya (APK) was a political party in Kenya. History The party was established by cabinet minister Kiraitu Murungi in 2012, in an attempt to create a vehicle for Uhuru Kenyatta to use in his bid to succeed President Mwai Kib ...

Political career

In 2013, Beatrice Elachi was nominated to the Senate as a member of

The National Alliance The National Alliance (TNA) was a political party in Kenya. It took on its current identity when Uhuru Kenyatta assumed control and renamed it as the vehicle for his 2012 presidential campaign. History The National Alliance was founded as the ...

(TNA). She rose to the rank of Majority Chief Whip in the Upper Chamber, the first woman to serve in that capacity, in the history of Kenya's parliament. In 2017, Beatrice won the

Jubilee Alliance The Jubilee Alliance was a political alliance in Kenya. History The alliance was established to support the joint presidential election ticket of Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto in the 2013 general elections. At the time of the election, its me ...

primary elections in the

Dagoretti North Constituency Dagoretti North Constituency is one of 17 electoral constituency of Nairobi County. It was created by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission before the 2013 general election. The constituency has an area of . Most of the area tha ...

, in April. In the August 2017 general election, she lost to ''Paul Simba Arati'', the incumbent. On 6 September 2017, having been dully nominated, she was elected speaker of the Nairobi County Assembly, and was the

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...

, as of January 2018. On 6 September 2018, after being accused of (a) conflict of interest, (b) undermining the Authority of the County Assembly Board, (c) abuse of office, gross misconduct and failure to show leadership, she was impeached as the speaker of Nairobi County Assembly. On 11 August 2020 Beatrice Elachi resigned as Nairobi County Speaker, in a televised address, citing death threats directed towards her.

Family

Beatrice Elachi is a married mother of four children.

References

External links