African-Born Lawmakers Are Quietly Rewriting Politics from Statehouses to Parliaments

It began, as these stories often do, far from the marble-lined chambers where laws are written. In refugee camps in Kenya, on small farms outside Accra, in Johannesburg suburbs, in crowded Lagos classrooms, future lawmakers learned their first hard lessons in resilience.

Today, fourteen African-born men and women sit in legislatures and statewide offices across the United States. They hail from seven countries — Somalia, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Liberia, Ghana, South Africa, and Kenya — and they have carved out space in a political landscape not always eager to make room.

It’s a remarkable doubling in just four years, according to The Africa Report and data compiled by New American Leaders. And it points to an emerging truth: African diaspora communities are no longer just contributors to civic life in the U.S.; they are now architects of it.

The Somali Bloc

• Mana Abdi – Maine House, District 95
  Born in a Somali refugee camp in Kenya, Abdi knows first-hand the gaps in opportunity faced by new arrivals. Elected in 2022, she balances legislative work with supporting underrepresented students at Bates College.
• Deqa Dhalac – Maine House, District 120
  Three decades after fleeing Somalia’s civil war, Dhalac became the first Somali-American mayor in the U.S. before her 2022 election to the state House. An interpreter by trade, she champions immigrant integration policies.
• Yusuf Yusuf – Maine House
  Set to take his seat in December 2024, Yusuf rose through local school board service. His personal care business has kept him anchored in community health advocacy.
• Zaynab Mohamed – Minnesota Senate
  Elected in 2022 at just 25, Mohamed became one of the youngest women in Senate history. A former policy aide, she’s pushing bills on affordable housing and policing reform.
• Hodan Hassan – Minnesota House
  In office since 2018, Hassan is a mental health clinician who brings trauma-informed practice into legislative debates, particularly on social services and public safety.
• Ismail Mohamed – Ohio House
  An attorney focused on civil rights, Mohamed entered the legislature in 2022, pressing for police accountability and equitable education funding.
• Munira Abdullahi – Ohio House
  Also elected in 2022, Abdullahi made history as the first Muslim woman in the Ohio House. She works on youth empowerment and anti-discrimination laws.

Nigeria’s New Guard

• Segun Adeyina – Georgia House
  IT professional turned public servant, Adeyina won his seat in 2020. He’s been active in pushing for broadband expansion and STEM education funding in rural districts.
• Esther Agbaje – Minnesota House
  Harvard-trained attorney Agbaje ran on a platform of infrastructure renewal and tenants’ rights. Since 2020 she’s been one of the legislature’s go-to voices on housing policy.
• Oye Owolewa – D.C. Shadow U.S. Representative
  Though the role is unique to Washington, D.C., Owolewa’s remit overlaps with state-level advocacy. A pharmacist by training, he campaigns for full congressional voting rights for the District.

Lone Voices from Elsewhere

• Samra Brouk – Ethiopia – New York Senate
  First elected in 2020, Brouk chairs the Mental Health Committee. Her nonprofit and public health background informs legislation on crisis response and healthcare access.
• Nathan Biah – Liberia – Rhode Island House
  A high school principal who fled Liberia’s civil war, Biah has used his 2020 mandate to work on school funding equity and immigrant family services.
• Nii Armah Afotei – Ghana – Nebraska Legislature
  Community organiser Afotei broke into Nebraska’s unicameral legislature in 2024. His agenda blends youth mentorship with rural economic development.
• Pieter Kriel – South Africa – Wyoming House
  A rancher who emigrated in the 1990s, Kriel’s 2024 election brought a pragmatic, agriculture-first voice to the Republican caucus.
• Irungu Kang’ata Jr. – Kenya – Massachusetts House
  An attorney and civic educator, Kang’ata joined the legislature in 2024. He’s already making waves on committees dealing with education reform and digital literacy.

Beyond U.S. Borders: African-Born Lawmakers on the Global Stage

The phenomenon isn’t confined to America. Across Europe, Oceania, and even Asia, African-born politicians are reshaping local and national politics:

• Magid Magid – Somalia – Former Lord Mayor of Sheffield, UK
  Arrived in Britain as a refugee from Somalia, became the youngest and first Green Party Lord Mayor in Sheffield’s history, known for his unapologetically activist style.
• Priti Patel – Uganda (of Gujarati Indian heritage) – UK Parliament
  Born to Ugandan-Indian parents expelled during Idi Amin’s regime, Patel rose to become UK Home Secretary, influencing immigration and security policy.
• Kiza Besigye – Uganda-born – New Zealand Local Government Candidate
  A recent entrant into New Zealand politics, bringing African diaspora perspectives into Pacific governance debates.
• Fatuma Hussein – Somalia – Finland Parliament
  Former refugee turned MP, advocating for migrant integration and anti-discrimination laws in Nordic politics.
• Zita Gurmai – Ghana-born – European Parliament (Hungary)
  Focuses on gender equality and development cooperation, bridging African and European policy priorities.
• Lucie Milebou Aubusson – Gabon – President of the Senate, Gabon (French diaspora links)
  Though serving in Africa, her legislative partnerships span Francophone Europe, influencing bilateral policy.
• Ibrahim Omer – Eritrea – New Zealand Parliament
  Former refugee who worked as a cleaner while studying, now a Labour MP championing workers’ rights and refugee resettlement.

Why This Matters

The symbolism is not lost on political watchers. “They bring perspectives shaped by migration, integration and, in some cases, survival,” notes The Africa Report. That lived experience can influence how legislatures approach refugee resettlement, overseas trade, or policing.

It’s also a form of soft power: African-born lawmakers can act as cultural and economic bridges between their constituencies and the countries of their birth. That’s a role with growing weight in a globalised economy — and in political systems where local or state-level policy can move as quickly as, or faster than, national law.

Barriers Still in Play

Their paths are not free of resistance. African-born officials face the same racial prejudice and partisan rancour as other politicians of colour, compounded in some cases by anti-immigrant sentiment. Balancing the immediate needs of their districts with transnational advocacy is another tightrope walk.

But the momentum is there. In 2019, there were eight African-born state officials in the U.S.; today there are 14. Globally, the number of African-born lawmakers in parliaments from London to Wellington is also on the rise. As local networks mature and mentorship pipelines grow, that number is likely to climb.

A Shift Worth Watching

For all the diversity of their politics — some are progressives, others centrists, still others deeply conservative — they share an origin story that begins on African soil and now threads into civic life across continents. From the fishing towns of Maine to the council chambers of Helsinki, their voices are shaping law in ways that will be felt well beyond their borders.

In an era when national politics often feels gridlocked, these local and regional gains are proof that representation can expand from the ground up — sometimes quietly, often against the odds, but always propelled by the belief that democracy works better when more of its citizens see themselves in the halls of power.