Foreign Affairs CS Amina Mohamed was nominated to the position of African Union Commission’s chairperson because of her sterling performance in the past four years, President Uhuru Kenyatta has said.
Mohamed was appointed Foreign Affairs CS in 2013. Uhuru said the CS has done a good job as Kenya’s foremost diplomat. “We have benefitted tremendously from regional and international engagements of national and continental significance,” he said. Yesterday Mohamed said she is humbled. “I feel very privileged to have been nominated. If elected, I promise to do my best to serve the continent well,” she said.
Mohamed was instrumental in raising Kenya’s concerns about the International Criminal Court, when six Kenyans, including Uhuru and Deputy William Ruto, were charged with crimes against humanity. Kenya will start lobbying AU member states to support Mohamed’s candidacy when elections are called.
The chairperson heads the executive arm of the commission.
Mohamed’s most significant achievements include being the first woman to lead the Foreign Affairs ministry in Kenya.
She was elected President of UNCTAD 14 for the next four years, was the chairperson of the World Trade Organisation’s 10th Ministerial Conference, the top decision-making organ of the WTO, and co-chairperson of the ministerial segment of the first TICAD Summit held in Africa.
Mohamed is the first woman to chair the three most important bodies of the WTO — the Trade Policy Body, the Dispute Settlement Body and the Governing General Council of the WTO. She was President of the Conference on Disarmament and the first African and female chairperson of the Council of the International Organisation for Migration.
Mohamed served as a member of the executive bodies and committees of the World Health Organisation, UN High Commission for Refugees, World Intellectual Property Organisation and the UN Programme on HIV and Aids. Cumulatively, these assignments have earned her international acclaim and respect.
She was Permanent Secretary in the ministry of Justice, National Cohesion and Constitutional Affairs. Mohamed chaired the Governance, Justice, Law and Order Sector reforms, a cross-institutional programme. In 2010, she was elected the UN International Conference on Transnational Crime president for a two year period.
“Given her track record, I am confident Mohamed will serve our continent with the requisite professionalism, intellect, skill, integrity, passion and commitment,” Uhuru said.