Rewriting the Rules: Ruth Kay Kangwa-Ndhlovu and the New Face of African Leadership

When Ruth Kay Kangwa-Ndhlovu speaks on leadership, her words embody great conviction, compassion, and intent. A Futurelect alumna, human rights and governance lawyer, and Girls Gone Political founder in Zambia, Ruth represents the kind of leadership Africa needs most: value-driven, inclusive, and integrity-based.

Ruth Kay Kangwa-Ndhlovu (left) with Kenyan politician Honourable Millie Odihambo

Her journey into public office took shape in the Youth Parliament, whose platforms gave her a glimpse into the power of young voices and the paucity of young women in office. In 2021, she risked it all by running on an independent ticket. That moment became one of reckoning on the youth's hunger to engage and the constraints of existing political systems. Out of that realisation, Girls Gone Political was founded, a democratic movement that empowers young women to lead, not just as citizen-voters but as candidates, decision-makers, and policy-shapers.

Through Girls Gone Political, Ruth has inspired and empowered young women all over Zambia to envision themselves as future leaders in public life. "Leadership is not something you force," she states, "but something you bring out of people." According to Ruth, mentorship is not about unleashing followers but liberating potential, a vision well-aligned with Futurelect's mission to develop ethical, values-based leadership in Africa.

Ruth Kay Kangwa-Ndhlovu, with recipients of She Votes, She Leads: A Zambian Pocket Civic Engagement Handbook

Her experience at Futurelect was a moment of self-reflection and transition. She calls it the time she rediscovered her definition of leadership, not ambition, but service. "Futurelect made me conceptualise leadership not as an ambition but as a stewardship held in trust for the people you serve," she says.

The 2021 Southern Africa Public Leadership Programme coincided with one of the most challenging periods in her life, a period of professional insecurity and personal loss. It was a crucible that tested and shaped her character and rooted her leadership philosophy in empathy, humility, and accountability. "Leadership is not tried in ease, but in adversity," she says. "Great leadership isn't needing to be stubborn, but being willing to let bad times shape your purpose." These lessons remain with her in public office today.

In October 2025, Ruth was appointed a member of Zambia's Technical Committee for Constitutional Reforms under the 7th government administration. She is among the youngest to have been appointed to this pivotal role. As she assumes her new role, she says the courage of young people on the continent remains her biggest inspiration. "They are not waiting to be invited into leadership," she says. "They are carving out their own space and forging conversation in new, bold, and unapologetic ways."

From Left to Right: Zambian Vice President Hon W.K. Mutale Nalumango, Ruth Kay Kangwa-Ndhlovu, and Zambian Republican President H.E Hakainde Hicilema

Ruth Kangwa's story is a testament that changing governance starts with changing the people who shape it. Her journey from Youth Parliament to constitutional reform is evidence that when young Africans are armed with information, mentorship, and ethical direction, they don't merely sit at the table; they upend it. "We are a generation born for a time like this," Ruth says, "called to stand at the intersection of courage and responsibility."