Who is Ofunne Kate Osamor?
Ofunne Kate Osamor is a British-Nigerian politician currently serving as the Member of Parliament for Edmonton, a constituency in Greater London, United States.
Biography
Kate Osamor whose office is currently a member of the British House of Commons started her political career in 2014 when she was elected as a member of the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party.
Age
Kate Osamor was born on August 15, 1968. She is currently 55 years old and will be 56 years old by August 15, 2024.
Ethnic
Osamor was born and raised in London. Meanwhile, her parents are Nigerian. She was born in North London and grew up in Haringey.
While there is no public record of her father’s ethnicity in Nigeria, it can be presumed she is from Edo state.
This is deduced from her retweet of a post by Prince Clem Ikanade Agba, a 2024 gubernatorial aspirant in Edo state.
Parents
Kate’s mother’s name is Martha Osamor (née Oburotha). Her father died when she was only a young child.
Her parents migrated to the United Kingdom where they gave birth to four children. Describing her struggle growing up, Kate said her mum “had four children, which is tough, and then my dad passed away when I was still quite little.”
Marriage (Husband and children)
Kate gave birth to his son Ishmael Osamor in 1989 with her then partner Kim Udi. Ishmael initially had his father’s surname Udi.
Her son, Ishmael served as a Councillor and Cabinet Member on Haringey Council. He resigned from his position at Haringey Council after his criminal conviction in 2018.
Education
Osamor was educated at Creighton Comprehensive School, Muswell Hill from 1979 to 1983. She completed an access course at Hackney College from 2003 to 2006, and subsequently read Third World Studies at the University of East London.
Career
Academic career
She worked for The Big Issue newspaper after graduating, but has principally worked as a practice manager in the NHS until early last year when she was selected for her local safe Labour seat.
Osamor was an executive assistant in a general practitioner (GP) out of hours service for 9 years and a GP practice manager for 2 years.
Political career
- 2014: Member of the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party
- 2015: Member of Parliament (MP) Edmonton. She replaced Andy Love
- 2015: Chair for the All Party Parliamentary Group for Nigeria
- 2017: Re-elected as MP for Edmonton
Controversy
Unpaid internship
In January 2016, Osamor was accused of hypocrisy for advertising an unpaid internship which paid expenses only. Osamor subsequently withdrew the advert, claiming it had been a “misunderstanding”
The post was looking for a degree-level intern to, among other things, assist with “community-based projects relating to the constituency”. The page also stressed that the role was being advertised as a voluntary one.
“There are no set hours and responsibilities and you should be free to come and go as you wish. If the post demands set hours and/or has a specific job description you may be deemed to be a ‘worker’ and be covered by National Minimum Wage (NMW) legislation,” the post said.
Plagiarism in victory address
After her re-election at the 2017 general election, she was accused of plagiarising sections of her victory address from Barack Obama’s 2008 speech.
Her address reads in part: “If there is anyone out there who doubts that Edmonton is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of hope is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.
“It’s the answer told by the lines of people stretched around polling stations, schools and churches. By young people who queued, many for the first time in their lives because they believed that voting for Labour this time must be different, that their voices could be the difference.”
The words are almost identical to those spoken by President Obama after his victory nearly a decade ago.
Addressing a huge crowd in his home city of Chicago, he said: “If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.
“It’s the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different, that their voices could be that difference.”
Defending the plagiarism, Osamor she “deliberately invoked a victory speech so famous that she thought it needed no introduction”.
Refusal to terminate son’s appointment
In October 2018, it was revealed that Osamor continued to employ her son, Ishmael, in her Parliamentary office despite his drug-related convictions
Ishmael would later had plea guilty to having £2,500-worth of drugs, at the Bestival event in Dorset.
According to a report by BBC, the son of Shadow International Development Secretary Kate Osamor, was caught with ecstasy, cocaine, ketamine and cannabis at the festival in August 2017, nine months before he was elected as a councillor.
Osamor was sentenced to a two-year community order and 20 days rehabilitation.
Suspended for calling Israel’s actions against Gaza genocide
Osamor, the Chief Whip of Labour, was suspended after accusing Israel of genocide on the eve of Holocaust Memorial Day.
The minister sparked outrage after claiming in her weekly newsletter that Gaza should be added to the list of ‘recent genocides’.
Posting a photo of herself signing the Holocaust Education Trust’s commemoration book in Westminster, she wrote on X, “Tomorrow is Holocaust Memorial Day, an international day to remember the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, the millions of other people murdered under Nazi persecution of other groups and more recent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and now Gaza.”
However, Osamor later posted an apology on social media on Friday night, writing on X, ‘Holocaust Memorial Day is a day to remember the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust and the genocides that have occurred since.
“I apologise for any offence caused by my reference to the ongoing humanitarian disaster in Gaza as part of that period of remembrance.”
In an adjusted post on Twitter, she ommitted Israel in the list of countries where genocides had occured.
Disclaimer
The information in this article was curated from online sources. NewsWireNGR or its editorial team cannot independently verify all details.
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