Meet the beautiful lady who became Africa's youngest lawmaker at 19
- It is rare to find teenagers in politics, not to talk of a teenage parliamentarian serving in the midst of elderly men and women
- Proscovia Alengot Oromait was 19 years when she made history as the youngest lawmaker in Africa
- The young lady from Uganda, who made the history in 2012, also became the youngest person in the world to assume that position
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Proscovia Alengot Oromait made history in 2012 when she became the youngest lawmaker in Africa at the age of 19.
Not only did she become Africa's youngest member of parliament, but she also became the youngest person in the world to assume that position, Face 2 Face Africa reports.
Briefly.co.za gathers that Oromait was sworn in as a legislator representing Usuk County, eastern Uganda.
Source: UGC
She defeated eight other candidates to replace her late father Michael Oromait, whose death opened the vacancy in Usuk County.
Her election was met with oppositions by other politicians who felt it was not right to elect a high school graduate to parliament
Oromait stated at the time:
"I wanted to run the programs that were left by my late dad behind. I want to fight [for] peace and unity between Teso and Karamoja. And that’s why I went for these bi-elections."
Born on January 1, 1993, the now 27-year-old lady defended her win and said her age will not hinder the performance of her duties.
The young lady served as the parliamentarian for Usuk County from 2011 to 2016.
Meanwhile, Briefly.co.za previously reported that a Canadian-based African man identified as Kelechi Madu was appointed minister of justice and solicitor general of the Province of Alberta in Canada.
Madu took to his LinkedIn page to reflect on his new appointment and vowed to ensure that everyone in Alberta has access to equal justice.
He said his legal work has always been informed by the fundamental belief that everyone deserves equal access to justice, adding that this will never change.
Madu said he cherishes the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which says:
“Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination.”
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Source: Briefly News
Maryn Blignaut (Editor in Chief) Maryn Blignaut is the Editor-in-Chief at Briefly News. She holds a BA in Communication Science from the University of South Africa (2016) and has over seven years of journalism experience. She specialises in digital journalism and feature writing. Maryn completed the AFP Digital Investigation Techniques course and multiple Google News Initiative training programmes. For enquiries, contact maryn.blignaut@briefly.co.za.
Kelly Lippke (Senior Editor) Kelly Lippke is a copy editor/proofreader who started her career at the Northern-Natal Courier with a BA in Communication Science/Psychology (Unisa, 2007). Kelly has worked for several Caxton publications, including the Highway Mail and Northglen News. Kelly’s unique editing perspective stems from an additional major in Linguistics. Kelly joined Briefly News in 2018 and she has 16 years of experience. Kelly has also passed a set of trainings by Google News Initiative. You can reach her at kelly.lippke@briefly.co.za.
