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 The Parliament of Kenya is the bicameral legislature of Kenya. It is based at Parliament Buildings in Nairobi and consists of two houses: * Senate (upper house) * The National Assembly ( lower house) See also *Politics of Kenya * List of legisl ...

Early life and education

Lesuuda was born in Samburu on 30 April 1984, the first of three children born to an

Anglican bishop The Anglican ministry is both the leadership and agency of Christian service in the Anglican Communion. "Ministry" commonly refers to the office of ordained clergy: the ''threefold order'' of bishops, priests and deacons. More accurately, Anglica ...

and a businesswoman. She graduated from

Daystar University Daystar is a Christian liberal arts university in Nairobi. Daystar's original campus is close to Nairobi city centre, but there was no room to expand at that location. Therefore, in 1992 a new campus was built at Athi River, some 40 km to ...

with a degree in communications and community development.

Career

Lesuuda worked as a journalist at the

Kenya Broadcasting Corporation Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) is the state-run media organisation of Kenya. It broadcasts in English and Swahili, as well as in most local languages of Kenya. The corporation started its life in 1928 when Kenya was a British colony. I ...

, including hosting ''Good Morning Kenya''. In 2009, after ten people were killed in cattle rustling in

Laikipia Laikipia County is one of the 47 Counties of Kenya, located on the Equator in the former Rift Valley Province of the Country. Laikipia is a cosmopolitan County and is Listed as County number 31. The county has two major urban centres: Nanyuki ...

, she became a founding member of the Laikipia Peace Caravan. This in turn led to the founding of a number of other local peace organisations, supported by the Kenya government and

USAid The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 bi ...

. In 2010, her work with this organisation led to her becoming the youngest Kenyan woman to win the presidential Order of the Grand Warrior. 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 Child marriage is a marriage or similar union, formal or informal, between a child under a certain age – typically 18 years – and an adult or another child. * * * * The vast majority of child marriages are between a female child and a mal ...

. Lesuuda participated in President

Uhuru Kenyatta Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta (born 26 October 1961) is a Kenyan politician who served as the fourth president of Kenya from 2013 to 2022. Kenyatta was chosen by Daniel Arap Moi as his preferred successor, but Kenyatta was defeated by opposition le ...

's campaign in 2013, and was then nominated on his TNA party ticket to represent

Samburu County Samburu County is a county in the former Rift Valley Province, Kenya. It covers an area of roughly 21,000 km2 (8,000 mi2) in northern Kenya where the Samburu, Turkana and many other tribes live. It stretches north from the Wuaso Ng' ...

in the Senate in 2013, becoming its youngest female member. 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 In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

for Samburu West, then in 2017 switching from the

Jubilee A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of y ...

to KANU party. She has maintained her support for Kenyatta. At the 2017 election, Lesuuda was elected with 14,560 votes, defeating incumbent Jonathan Lelelit who received 13,970 votes, becoming the first female member of parliament for the constituency. 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. She was re-elected in

Samburu West Constituency Samburu West is an electoral constituency in Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates ...

at the

2022 general election The following elections are scheduled to occur in 2022. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2022 United Nations Security Council election * 2022 national electoral calendar * 2022 local ...

Awards and honours

* Presidential Order of the Grand Warrior for her journalistic work highlighting social issues and promoting peace, 2010 *

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...

Wedge Award for Outstanding Professional Woman, 2011

Personal life

Lesuuda is married, and has 2 daughters.].

References

External links

Naisula Lesuuda: From journalist to Senator
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lesuuda, Naisula Living people 1984 births 21st-century Kenyan women politicians 21st-century Kenyan politicians Kenya African National Union politicians Kenyan television journalists Members of the Senate of Kenya Kenyan women's rights activists Kenyan women television journalists Kenyan activists Kenyan women activists Members of the 12th Parliament of Kenya Members of the 13th Parliament of Kenya