Roselyn Akombe returns to New York after landing new UN job

Dr Roselyn Akombe. PHOTO | COURTESY

Former Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) commissioner Dr Roselyn Akombe has landed a new job as the Chief of Peacebuilding Strategy and Partnerships at the United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (UNDPPA) based in New York.

The UN agency works to prevent conflict and sustain peace around the world.

Dr Akombe announced the appointment on Thursday through her official Twitter handle.

“Grateful for the appointment to serve as Chief of Peacebuilding Strategy and Partnerships at UNDPPA…Always grateful to God for his blessings,” she tweeted.

“It takes patience, perseverance, integrity, consistency and hard work. It has not been easy. There are times you want to give up and then remember that you have many who depend on you. So you keep pushing yourself.”

Prior to her latest appointment, the political economist was serving as the Governance and Peacebuilding Regional Coordinator for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Africa based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for two years.

The ex-electoral commissioner fled Kenya in 2017, just days before the repeat presidential election that was conducted on October 26, citing safety concerns.

Before her appointment to IEBC in January 2017, Dr Akombe worked as an under-secretary at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

She has previously served as the Chief of Policy at the Policy and Mediation Division of UNDPPA and as an economist with the African Union (AU).

Born in 1976 in Nyamira County, Dr Akombe studied Education at the University of Nairobi before going to the US for further studies. She holds a Master of Science in global affairs and a PhD in the same subject, both from Rutgers University.

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