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The name of Kenyan iron lady Grace Onyango sneaked back to the parliament floor during the acrimonious debate on the BBI Bill.
Fierce contributions by Siaya Senator James Orengo rekindled the memories of the first female Member of Parliament in post-independence Kenya.
Orengo who declared that he could not be intimidated equated himself to the retired woman politician.
‘I have seen very respected women in this country like Grace Onyango who was in the committee for special investigation relating to the disappearance of JM Kariuki and she stood firm. She was required to change a report of the national assembly and she stood firm, ’Orengo thundered.
Grace Monica Akech Onyango (Nya’Bungu) was born on 26th June 1924.
Onyango holds several first in post-independence Kenyan politics as the first female to climb up the ranks of the political system, defying cultural barriers.
She was also the first Kenyan female mayor after she replaced Mathias Ondiek as the Kisumu Mayor in 1965.
She was elected to represent Kisumu Town constituency in 1969 and in parliament, Onyango was the first woman to sit on the speaker’s chair as temporary deputy speaker.
Onyango and women reps led by Passaris
Onyango also served as the first female secretary-general of the Luo Union.
When a group of women MPs recently paid her a visit at her Kisumu home, ostensibly to seek wisdom in leadership, Nairobi women representative Esther Passaris passionately described her as a legend and trailblazer.
The refurbished Kisumu social hall has been renamed Grace Onyango Hall.
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