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.
Hon. Ngabirano (Independent) will serve the remainder of the 11th Parliament, having replaced the late Hon. Sarah Mateke Nyirabashitsi, who passed away in September 2024. Nyirabashitsi was also the State Minister for Defence and Veteran Affairs.
The Electoral Commission declared Ngabirano the winner of the Kisoro District Woman MP by-election after she garnered 50,459 votes, defeating her closest competitor, Rose Kabagenyi of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) Party, who received 44,982 votes.
While chairing the sitting on Tuesday, 26 November 2024, Speaker Anita Among congratulated Ngabirano on her successful election and urged her to support Parliament’s mission of being a people-centered institution.
“I 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 off,” said Among.
The Speaker handed Ngabirano a copy of the Constitution and the Rules of Procedure of Parliament to guide her legislative duties. She also assigned 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.
