In recent years, we have witnessed the nomination of people with disabilities to Parliament, but in 1998, one specific candidate created history.
The Safina Party nominated Josephine Sinyo for Parliament.
On October 28, 1998, the Daily Nation announced that she became the first visually challenged person to serve as a member of Parliament.
Her nomination was well received by people all around the country, and it became a symbol of acknowledgment for both the physically challenged and women in society.
The historic feat was shared by then-Safina Party leader Paul Muite, gender campaigner Wanjiku Kabira, and conservationist Richard Leakey, who had voiced his desire for a disabled person, preferably a woman, to take his place.
Sinyo was blind when he was three years old due to measles.
She studied law at the University of Nairobi, earning a bachelor’s degree (LLB), and then went on to the University of Hull in England for her master’s degree.
Sinyo is a High Court of Kenya advocate and state counsel for the Attorney General’s Office. She has over 30 years’ expertise in human rights, policy formulation, legislative research, and training.
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During her time as an MP, she was crucial in the constitutional review process, advocating for the rights of children, women, and people with disabilities.
She has had the opportunity to serve in the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA, Kenya Chapter), the Forum for Women Education (FAWE, Kenya Chapter), the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), the Kenya Brest Health Programme, the Kenya Union of the Blind, the Kenya Society for the Blind and the United Disabled Persons of Kenya (UDPK).
Sinyo received governmental commendations in 2006, 2015, and 2017 for her contributions to nation-building, including the Order of the Grand Warrior (OGW), the Excellence Service Award, and the Elder of the Burning Spear (EBS).
She is currently an ex-officio member of the National Fund for the Disabled of Kenya Board of Trustees, representing the Attorney General’s Office.
Sinyo serves on the Donations Committee and the Audit, Risk and Governance Committee. She also serves on the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency’s (NuPEA) board of directors.
