Risper Kemunto Onguti is a Member of County Assembly in Kisii County, Kenya. She uses her position to champion the view that everyone deserves a dignified life, and that this is attainable through legislation, representation, and oversight.
She appropriates resources to protect, promote and actualise women’s and girls’ rights and freedoms as a basis for addressing prevailing systemic gendered inequalities, oppression, exploitation and discrimination.
In the assembly Risper serves as the Deputy Leader of the majority party, a position she has held for the last eight years. Risper has used this position to debate and canvass for women’s interests, as well as for support from women’s organisations such as the National Gender and Equality Commission, the women parliamentarians caucus and the political parties’ women caucus. Her focus has been to ensure that she increases the presence of women leaders at all decision-making levels across all spheres, as well as to promote an environment where women are encouraged to lead and succeed.
Risper has also served as a Vice-chairperson of the Budget and Appropriations Committee of the assembly where she ensured the inclusion of budgets that were pro-women empowerment.
In 2012, Risper graduated from the Moi University I Eldoret, one of the biggest public universities in Kenya, with a Bachelor of Education Arts.