Linah Kilimo

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Linah Jebii Kilimo (born October 22, 1963) is a female Member of Parliament in Kenya's National Rainbow Coalition government. She was elected to represent Marakwet East Constituency. Her political opponents opposed her running for office on the grounds that she had not been circumcised and so was not fit to hold public office. She has however been instrumental in working with the Government and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in working towards eradicating FGM. She has also been instrumental in bringing a lasting peace between the Pokots and Marakwets. The Marakwet community and particularly those from Marakwet East Constituency had been persecuted raided severally by marauding Pokot warriors, which the KANU Government had failed to stop despite the presence of the Army, the Police and Paramilitary police units in the area. This peace was achieved only after the NARC Government was elected in December 2002, as a result the two communities now live in peace and harmony. Lina Kilimo has also been successful in developing the Marakwet East constituency, through providing funding to local school by way of books, more teachers, food programs and even clothing. She has worked with the Government to enhance access to the constituency by construction of an all-weather road, with the intention to make the same a tarmac road in the sort term future. Linah Kilimo is married to an Engineer working with the Government and they have five children.

At the 2005 Kenyan constitutional referendum, she supported its rejection. Along with number of other ministers, she was kicked out the government after the referendum, which failed to pass the proposed new constitution. She joined the Orange Democratic Movement, but later left the party to support the re-election of president Mwai Kibaki ^[1].