Given Katuta Mwelwa (born 6 March 1969 in

Chiengi Chiengi or is a historic colonial boma of the British Empire in central Africa and today is a settlement in the Luapula Province of Zambia, and headquarters of Chiengi District. Chiengi is in the north-east corner of Lake Mweru, and at the foo ...

) is a Zambian politician and member of parliament for

. She was first elected to parliament in 2016.

Early life and education

Katuta was born in

(which, at that time, was part of

Nchelenge District Nchelenge District is a Districts of Zambia, district of Zambia, located in the Luapula Province. The capital lies at Nchelenge. As of the 2022 Zambian Census, the district had a population of 233,696 people.

) on 6 March 1969. She was given a Honorary Doctorate Degree in Public Administration from the London Graduate School of the Commonwealth University in 2022. She was given a Bachelor of Business Administration from Chalimbana University in Zambia in 2024.

Politics and career

Katuta was elected as the only Member of Parliament under the

Forum for Democracy and Development The Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) is a political party in Zambia. History The FDD was founded in 2001 by former members of the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD), disaffected by Frederick Chiluba's efforts to change the constit ...

(FDD) party in 2016 after beating the ruling Patriotic Front candidate. In 2021, she was elected as the only female Independent Member of Parliament in a male-dominated political space after beating the ruling party candidate and the main opposition party candidate at the time. During her parliamentary work, she has served on various high-level committees such as the Committee on Cabinet Affairs, the Committee on Transport and Communication, Executive Committee Member of Caucus on Children’s Rights, Zambia Women Parliamentary Caucus, Zambia-China Friendship Association, and Commonwealth Parliamentarians with Disabilities. She has also chaired the Select Committee appointed to scrutinize the 2016 constitution and submit to Parliament. She also served as the Chair for the Select Committee appointed by the Speaker of the Zambian Parliament to scrutinize the appointment of judges. She won the African Women Summit award in 2023.

Personal life

Katuta is married to Lawrence Mwelwa, a former university vice-chancellor at Chreso University.

References

{{Authority control 1969 births Living people Members of the National Assembly of Zambia 21st-century Zambian women politicians 21st-century Zambian politicians People from Luapula Province Independent politicians in Zambia