Strength Of A Woman: Captain Ruweida Obo Elected First Female Lamu East MP

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug, 11 – Captain Ruweida Obo made history after she was elected as the first female legislator from Lamu East constituency.

Obo was declared the winner of the August 9 polls after clinching 5,498 votes.

Obo served as the Lamu woman representative between 2017 and 2022

She contested the seat on a Jubilee ticket defeating her closest competitor incumbent MP Sharif Athman who ran on a United Democratic Alliance (UDA) ticket and had held the position from 2013.

Two other contestants were also seeking election in the race for Lamu east MP.

Sharif garnered 4,633 votes while the Kenya African National Union (KANU) candidate Kombo Shekuwe Kahale alias Mwanati got 3,180 votes.

Wiper party’s  Mohamed Madhubuti garnered 1,632 votes.

“I was the only female contestant in this particular race but I wasn’t deterred. I knew the time had come for Lamu East constituency to vote for change. I thank all for believing in women’s leadership. I want to assure you that I will do all it takes to ensure Lamu East constituency attains the change you deserve in terms of development, education, security, infrastructure, health, water and fishing among others,” said Obo.

She has run on a development agenda while also championing for the rights of women from the marginalized community.

“My focus now is to bring change that we can believe in and trust. As the MP of this region, I will effectively address the issues of the most vulnerable people in our communities, empower people to take lead in informed decisions, and embrace public participation,” she said.