24-year old Joana Ruvimbo Mamombe is set to be Zimbabwe’s youngest Member of Parliament after she garnered the majority vote in Harare West constituency.
“History has been made in our Constituency, I am forever indebted! Thank you Harare West residents. We made it,” she posted on social media.
In a Facebook post on Sunday before the Monday General elections, Mamombe expressed her hope to win the seat, which has been formerly held by Jessie Majome.
“Lord, we have done everything humanly possible! We now ask for your Divine intervention! Thank you friends and family for the unwavering support. To my fellow #HarareWest residents let’s finish this together by casting your vote for Joanah Mamombe tomorrow! Together we can complete the change. A special thanks to the residents of Harare West, the committed and selfless Campaign #TeamJoanah and the MDC-Alliance Family for the massive support,” wrote Ms Mamombe.
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) is yet to release official results.
Mamombe is known for her activism for the girl child, having been at loggerheads with Robert Mugabe’s leadership several times.
She is known for helping implement programmes and workshops to empower female students, and invited influential leaders and legal experts to discuss and unpick the law in relation to women.
At one time, she endured sexual assault and beatings in her home country for activist work.
One of her protests regarding high tuition fees resulted in a three month hospital stay for her after she was arrested and tortured by the police.
“I have been arrested countless times. I am not even sure of the number. It is just what is expected during protests. Simply being a human rights activist is hard. So many of us are arrested and silenced,” she said.
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