Kenyans including Narok County Senator Ledama Olekina took to social media to celebrate Lilian Seenoi Barr, a Kenyan, for her appointment as a councillor in Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom.
The appointment made Seenoi, who had been active in politics in the UK for two years, the first-ever black person to hold the position.
Senator Olekina shared a post on social media on Saturday, May 20, celebrating Seenoi for the achievement.
“Congratulations to my baby sister, the first ever black person to be elected as a councillor in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. May the Good Lord open many doors for you,” he stated.
Other Kenyans celebrated her win on social media, lauding her for making history and paving the way for other young girls who dream of taking up political roles.
Seenoi shared her excitement for the new position assuring those who voted for her that she would commit to delivering the promises she had made.
She noted that she had more than 1,000 first-preference votes and noted that she then had an electoral mandate in her own right.
“I am deeply humbled to have been elected by the people of Foyleside. When I joined the council just under 2 years ago, I had been chosen by SDLP members.
"I made a commitment that I would work tirelessly to earn people's trust and deliver for the area. The people have spoken loud and clear,” Seenoi stated.
Further, she stated that the people of Foyleside in the UK had rewarded her hard work and given her the mandate to make a change.
“For the most part they are rewarding hard work, but it is also clear to see their frustration at the continuing lack of a functional assembly and obstruction of a nationalist first minister,” she added.
Seenoi is a prominent Black Lives Matter campaigner and a refugee activist from the Maasai community who moved to Northern Ireland in 2010 as an asylum seeker.
While in Kenya, she campaigned against Female Genital Mutilation and early marriages advocating for the rights of the Maasai women and girls.
