Grace Ngabirano Akifeza has taken the oaths of allegiance and of Member of Parliament as the new representative for Kisoro District, following her victory in a by-election held on 14 November 2024.
Ngabirano (Independent) will serve the remaining term of the 11th Parliament having replaced former MP, late Hon. Sarah Mateke Nyirabashitsi, who died in September this year.
Nyirabashitsi was also the State Minister for Defence and Veteran Affairs.
The Electoral Commission declared Ngabirano winner of the Kisoro District Woman MP by-election held after garnering 50,459 of the total votes cast, against 44,982 obtained by her closest contender, Rose Kabagenyi of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) Party.
While chairing the sitting on Tuesday, 26 November 2023, Speaker Anita Among congratulated Ngabirano on her successful election and urged her to support its mission of being a people-centred institution.
“I want to urge you to be a leader by serving the people of Kisoro and bringing them closer to Parliament. Start from where the late Nyirabashitsi left,” said Among.
The Speaker handed a copy of the Constitution and the Rules of Procedure of Parliament to Ngabirano, to guide her legislative duties.
Among also designated the new legislator to the Sectoral Committee on Education and Sports and the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Local Government).
Ngabirano has a background in human rights, having served as a senior rehabilitation officer with the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, and later with the National Human Rights Organization of Kenya.
