Kenyans have been at the forefront of managing a lot of African affairs and the latest to join the ranks is Transparency International's Samuel Kimeu, who has been appointed by African Voices as an executive director.
Kimeu takes over from the Founding Executive Director Sharath Srinivasan.
Samuel Kimeu, a distinguished leader with a background in citizen engagement, anti-corruption, and governance reform in Africa, joins the organization during a time of expansion and growth.
His role is to transform the way citizens' voices are listened to and acted upon in decisions that affect their lives.
Kimeu previously worked at Transparency International-Kenya, where he has been an executive director for nearly a decade.
He also had a stint as a governance specialist at the Embassy of Finland in Nairobi and as the executive director of the Kenyan section at the International Commission of Jurists. He has also taught law at Kenyatta University's School of Law.
Kimeu is an advocate of the High Court and a member of both the Law Society of Kenya and the East African Law Society.
He holds a Master of Laws degree (LLM) in International Human Rights Law from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, USA. He received his first degree (LLB) from the University of Nairobi.
He also is currently serving as an elected member of the African Union Advisory Board on Corruption (AUABC) since August 2019 and the Board of Transparency International since October 2017.
His predecessor, renowned governance and human rights academic, has moved on to other duties at Cambridge University, where the inspiration for Africa's Voices began.
“I will use my background in citizen engagement and governance reform to drive Africa’s Voices’ vision to place citizen voice right at the heart of better governance. Respect for human rights and the law has always been central to my work and I intend to bring this same approach to Africa’s Voices. I look forward to working with our partners to refine their impact by using powerful and novel tools to stimulate inclusive dialogue and gather opinions from marginalized communities.
"Africa’s Voices’ unique methods produce citizen-led insights which certainly open up a whole new world of potential which is beneficial for development. My vision is to place these methods at the disposal of decision-makers across the African continent within a couple of years," Kimeu stated
He will be replaced by Sheila Masinde at the Transparency International.
