Lupita Lands New Role Ahead of Mega Event in Kenya

Kenyan Movie star Lupita Nyong'o at the 2021 Met Gala in New York
Kenyan Movie star Lupita Nyong'o at the 2021 Met Gala in New York.
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Lupita Nyong'o

Hollywood movie star, Lupita Nyong'o has been appointed as the goodwill ambassador by AfriCities ahead of their mega-conference in Kisumu scheduled for May this year.

AfriCities is an organisation tasked with promoting economic development in African cities. 

The organisation announced Lupita's appointment on Friday, April 29, as preparations for the ninth conference planned for May 17-21 continued. 

AfriCities organisers explained that the actress was up to the task given her remarkable career in the film industry. Lupita was also lauded for drumming support for the body's goals and agenda. 

Lupita Nyong'o posing for a photo in Lamu on March 16, 2021
Lupita Nyong'o posing for a photo in Lamu on March 16, 2021
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"For the first time, the Africities Summit will have a Goodwill Ambassador: Ms. Lupita Nyong'o, Oscar-winning Kenyan actress, star of the film Black Panther and its sequel Wakanda Forever," read the statement in part.

"The theme for the 9th Edition is, ‘The Role of Intermediary Cities of Africa in the implementation of Agenda 2030 of the United Nations and the African Union Agenda 2063. President Uhuru Kenyatta will preside the organisation's ninth edition. 

'This will be the main platform for dialogue on decentralization and local governance that brings together every three years, African ministers; mayors, leaders, and elected officials of local and regional governments; civil society organizations among other economic and development partners," read the statement in part.

Various preparations have been undertaken in the preparations with the government spending over Ksh1.4 billion on the exercise.

Some of the works that are currently happening in the lakeside city include beautification projects, rehabilitation of roads, and the construction of a Ksh1.4 billion AfriCities Convention Centre.

Kisumu International Airport is also under refurbishment with the organisation expecting an influx of visitors in May.

Africities Secretariat secretariat representative in Kenya, Aloice Ager, stated that the conference would be a major economic boost for counties in the lake region with hotel occupancy expected to be high.

“The over 10,000 delegates we are expecting are the guests of the government of Kenya and there are standards that we have to meet while accommodating them. We will not take them to the unverified and unaccredited facility,” he stated.

An image of a rehabilitated roundabout in Kisumu City.
An image of a rehabilitated roundabout in Kisumu City.
Kisumu County Government