Ambassador Martin Kimani Assumes Office as Kenya’s Representative to the UN in New York

Ambassador Martin Kimani has formally assumed office as Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York.

This comes after he virtually presented his diplomatic credentials to the UN Secretariat on Thursday in line with the global body’s Covid-19 protocols.

Before being appointed to the position by President Kenyatta in October, Amb. Kimani served as the joint secretary of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) taskforce.

He also served as the President’s Special Envoy for Countering Violent Extremism, Director of Kenya’s National Counter Terrorism Centre from September of 2015, and Secretary for Strategic Initiatives in the Executive Office of the President from December of 2018.

Between December 2012 and September 2015, Kimani served as Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the UN at Nairobi, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).

During vetting by MPs in October, Kimani revealed he worth Sh58 million which he has accumulated in his 22-year diplomatic career.

The position of Kenya’s permanent representative to the UN fell vacant following the appointment of Amb. Macharia Kamau as the Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary in 2018.

Lazarus Amayo, the new Kenyan Ambassador to the United States of America, held the position in an acting capacity.