Naisula Lesuuda: The first elected Woman MP in Samburu

On any other day, she passes as an ordinary lawmaker and a peace ambassador particularly in the wild Suguta triangle where bandit attacks has become a norm.

However, behind her smiley face, darting eyes and her signature sae e nkwe (cultural dress ornament) carefully perched on her forehead, Samburu West MP Naisula Lesuuda made history after being elected the first woman to serve as MP in her Samburu community.

In an interview with NTV reporter Duncan Khaemba, Ms Lesuuda says getting to that position was not easy; it entailed pleading, sweat and tears.

She first made her name as a broadcast journalist working with national broadcaster - KBC and as a peace ambassador particularly in the wild Suguta triangle, where bandit attacks among the Samburu, Pokot and Turkana communities have become the norm over the years.

Womenfolk

Like any other ordinary Samburu woman or most of them, Ms Lesuuda would perhaps currently be expected to be taking care of children, building homes known as manyattas, looking after young or injured livestock that cannot be taken to far flung areas for grazing, among other chores assigned to Samburu womenfolk.

Nonetheless, the youthful legislator is among the lucky few and has become a trailblazer.  She is a third-term Member of Parliament (MP) representing Samburu West.

She says the never-ending bandit attacks among communities in her Suguta belt region compelled her to ditch the newsroom for the floor of Parliament - reporting on bandit attacks increasingly frustrated her with time.

“Every time I finished reading news there’s a report of people losing lives in my backyard,” explains Ms Lesuuda.

The MP recounts how she would be sad going home after work, always crying behind the KBC van. A time came when she decided that something had to be done. This followed a deadly attack where more than 40 people were killed in Laikipia’s Kanampiu area.

The massacre prompted professionals from pastoralist communities to come together and form a peace caravan. This was meant to jointly sensitise their communities to shun the vice and embrace peace. The plan entailed holding weekly meetings in Nairobi as well as visiting conflict zones.

Hatred

“The hatred went beyond then locals; professionals too could not see eye to eye, this was so difficult.”

Now serving her third term in Parliament, Ms Lesuuda says joining politics was one of her best decisions because there’s a huge difference now that she’s at a place where she can influence policy and cause action.

She was nominated to the Senate following the 2013 General Election, a position she took after making a hard decision. At the time, TNA party had given had nominated her while the then President Mwai Kibaki had nominated her as a deputy ambassador.

A big decision had to be made given that her parents were hesitant of her joining politics at the tender age, unmarried and had barely worked for ten years.

Ms Lesuuda says her plunge into active politics was instant baptism by fire.

“Within a year of being nominated, scandals began. The hustler jet entourage, don’t know what… and so when I met my dad he was like we told you,” she says.

After serving one term as a nominated Senator, she had to chat her next course of action. Her almost assured landing position was that of county woman representative then held by Maison Leshoomo, a key ally and her mentor. Besides being an affirmative seat for women that meant she shouldn’t antagonize a fellow woman, there was another catch - Ms Leshoomo.

“That was the easiest seat of course, but now this was a person I had worked so closely with when I was nominated senator, including peace work and many other things. I had to hunt for another seat.”

Ms Lesuuda trained her political guns on the Samburu West parliamentary seat. This was uncharted territory; a path no woman had walked before. It was a big political fight by all standards, and she made history in 2017, when trounced the incumbent, now Samburu governor Jonathan Lelelit.

She says during campaigns, some male competitors would ask the electorate not to vote for her on grounds that she is a young unmarried woman. She further explains that the men told the voters that a constituency prone to bandit attacks requires a proper man to lead and not a woman. Even after getting married, because politics is a dirty game as they say, in 2022 her competitors were at again, asking how a woman married in a different county can lead them.

During the 2017 campaigns, a gang of unknown people surrounded a local FM station and attempted to petrol bomb it while she did a night interview early. They were, however, repulsed after police officers quickly swung into action.

Rough politics

With such hurdles mounted on her course, Ms Lesuuda says she knew the task ahead was enormous and she had to put in more than double the effort men put.

She advises women seeking political seats to develop skin twice thicker than their male counterparts in order to survive the rough and tumble of politics.

“Men take to the microphone and talk about you and not the leadership skills you possess,”says the law maker.

The situation forced her to come up with a simple narrative for her community. She asked them why they allowed girls to compete for other jobs or duties with boys, but only resisted when it came to leadership. Her predecessors’ track record was also put on the table and she pleaded with the community to give her an opportunity - that’s how she won some considerable support that saw her win the seat.

Payo Long’onyo, an elder in Lolmolok Location says it was a difficult accepting Ms Lesuuda’s bid because she was not only young, but no woman had ever been allowed to lead men in the Samburu community.

“Hiyo msichana alikuwa KBC alikuwa mtangazaji, inaongea kiingereza watu nashanga, halafu ikaleta kitu inaitwa peace caravan kidogo kidogo ikakuwa nominated.....hiyo ndio ilisaidia kidogo kufanya mambo rahisi (That girl was at KBC as a reporter, her spoken English wowed people, then she brought a peace caravan, shortly she was nominated…that’s what made it easier for her)” says Mr Long’onyo.

No clout

Margaret Leremruto, a resident of Longewan says Ms Lesuuda’s election was a political miracle because their community treats women as people with no clout.

The MP might have landed in the space where policies are made, and where decisions or actions influenced, but primary challenges of illiteracy, under development and insecurity still persist.

Despite being in a leadership position, she explains that she continues to face resistance as a champion of peace.

“I’ve gone to meetings where I’m the only woman. In the last one, we had 400 angry young men who said to my face they don’t care, and today you can’t convince us anymore because we are tired of your peace messages, we will avenge for ourselves. First they did not even want to see me.”

As the sun sets in the dusty, thorny fields of Lesirai village located between Suguta Marmar and Maralal town, we ask her what the next step is in her rising political career. She will not be defending her seat after serving for two terms. A question she safely evades, giving a typical response from any politician.

“…eehee...laughter…..maybe I know what next but this is not the time to share”  

The first Samburu female MP, who goes by the name Ntito Naibor Nagol meaning strong white girl because of her brown skin complexion, and is a first born in her family, and was among the first pool of female senators in the country.