Kemi Badenoch has emerged as the first Black woman to lead the Conservative party in a historic moment for the political outfit that has produced some of the most celebrated British Prime Ministers such as Sir Winston Churchill, the iron lady Margaret Thatcher among others.
This achievement has been met with enthusiasm from various political figures, including Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru, who took to social media to extend her congratulations.
Waiguru emphasized Badenoch’s potential to ascend to the role of Prime Minister, heralding her leadership as a significant development for women in politics.
“Congratulations to @KemiBadenoch, the new leader of Britain’s @Conservatives Party and a possible future Prime Minister. She is also the first Black woman to lead the Party. This is an amazing achievement for the Nigerian-born Kemi and for women in general. Viva! @G7Governors @KEWOPA,” she posted.
Badenoch’s victory was solidified on Saturday, November 2, 2024, when she was elected to succeed former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who resigned following the party’s poor performance in the July 2024 General Election.
The 44-year-old new Conservative party leader triumphed in a close contest against former immigration minister Robert Jenrick, securing 57 per cent of the votes from party members.
The final tally revealed Badenoch received 53,806 votes, compared to Jenrick’s 41,388.
Nigerian roots
Badenoch was born Olukemi Olufunto Adegoke in December 1980 in Wimbledon, UK to Nigerian immigrant parents.
Her early life was marked by her family’s move back to Nigeria before her return to the UK at the age of 16 in 1996.
Badenoch’s journey reflects a significant personal history, having benefited from birthright citizenship before changes to immigration laws introduced by her political idol, the late Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, in 1981.
In her maiden speech to the House of Commons in 2017, Badenoch recounted her experiences of poverty in Nigeria.
“Growing up in Nigeria I saw real poverty—I experienced it, including living without electricity and doing my homework by candlelight, because the state electricity board could not provide power, and fetching water in heavy, rusty buckets from a bore-hole a mile away, because the nationalised water company could not get water out of the taps,” she told Parliament in her maiden speech after being elected as North West Essex MP.
The new leader of the Conservative party is married to Hamish Badenoch, adopting his surname after their marriage.
Badenoch’s ascent to Conservative party leadership signals a transformative era for the political outfit which appears to be embracing diversity as she replaces Rishi Sunak who became the UK’s first Prime Minister of Asian origin on October 22, 2022.
Sunak’s parents immigrated to the UK from East Africa even though they are both of Indian origin.
His father was born in Kenya in 1949, while his mother was born in Tanzania.
