Gertrude Kazarwa, 59, was on August 14, elected Speaker of the fifth Chamber of Deputies, for a five-year term running through 2029.
Kazarwa is married and has three children.
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A member of the Liberal Party (PL), she becomes the third successive woman to be Speaker of the 80-member Lower House. Her predecessor Donatille Mukabalisa (2013-2024) also hailed from PL, while the Speaker before her, Rose Mukantabana (2008-2013), was elected under the women special interest group ticket.
Kazarwa was voted by 73 out of 80 members of the Chamber of Deputies. She was contending for the position with Pie Nizeyimana from the Democratic Union of Rwandan People (UDPR), who got five votes. There were two invalid votes.
She was a Senator from September 2014 to September 2019.
Kazarwa is leading a women-dominated Lower House – as women comprise 63.75 per cent of the 80 members. The current women representation is higher than the 61 per cent in the fourth legislature.
According to her LinkedIn profile, she is experienced in financial management with more than 15 years of work experience in areas like project management, government grant management, legislation, policy analysis and local participatory development.
The founder of Bright Stars Foundation Academy (BSFA), a nursery and primary school located in Nduba Sector of Gasabo District, Kigali, Kazarwa is certified in court mediation, and an enthusiast of promoting human rights and welfare.
From 2000 to 2005, she was a Finance and Administrative Manager at MOUCECORE, a faith-based NGO with a mission to end conflict through facilitating reconciliation and empowering communities as a way of eradicating poverty.
Education
She has a Master of Business Administration - MBA, Finance and Financial Management Services from Maastricht School of Management, an international business school in the Netherlands which she obtained in 2010.
She also has a bachelor's degree in law obtained from the University of Lay Adventists of Kigali, in 2021, and a bachelor's degree in management from Kigali Independent University, obtained in 2003.
Deputy Speakers
Sheikh Mussa Fazil Harerimana, from Ideal Democratic Party (PDI) was re-elected Deputy Speaker in charge of finance and administration.
Beline Uwineza from Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF-Inotanyi) was elected as the Deputy Speaker in charge of legal affairs and government oversight, a position that was previously held by Edda Mukabagwiza in the previous Assembly.
Harerimana and Uwineza stood unopposed for the respective positions.
Harerimana was a cabinet minister for 10 years, serving as Minister of Internal Security, from 2006 to 2016.
He has been President of PDI since 2006 up to now.
In the fourth legislature, Uwineza was the vice Chairperson of the Lower House’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
Before joining Parliament, she held functions including being ALAC Regional Coordinator for Northern and Western provinces at Transparency International Rwanda.
ALAC is a project initiated by Transparency International in 2003 with the aim of informing citizens about their legal rights and enabling citizens to act in cases where they are victims or witnesses of corruption. The project in Rwanda started in 2009.