Josephine Sinyo


Josephine Sinyo is a Kenyan lawyer, politician and disability rights activist. She is a member of Kenya's parliament, having become in 1998 the country's first blind person to be elected an MP.

Early life and education

Josephine Sinyo is blind since having measles when she was three years old. She studied for her bachelors at the University of Nairobi and a masters at the University of Hull in England.

Career

Experiences she had after giving birth to a child pushed her towards disability rights activism and she became chief executive officer of the Kenya Law Reform Commission. She is also a trustee of the National Fund for People with a Disability.
In 1998, she was nominated for member of parliament by the Safina Party and was elected, becoming Kenya's first blind person to be an MP. She has also worked at the High Court of Kenya and the attorney general's office. A former MP, Dt Oki Ooko Ombaka had become blind during his service.

Awards and recognition

Sinyo has received a number of state awards including the Order of the Grand Warrior of Kenya, the Excellence Service Award and the Elder of the Burning Spear.

Publications