Our Team in Kenya

Rainer has served as Director of UNOPS Kenya Multi Country office (KMCO) since 2014 and was previously Adviser for Risk Reduction and Recovery in UNOPS Head Quarters in Copenhagen. He first worked with the UN in Sri Lanka, going on to other agencies in conflict, disaster and emergency operations in Afghanistan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Philippines, Haiti, Maldives, Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan. He a Magister Juris/LLM from the Universities of Salzburg and Vienna and a Master’s in Development Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London.

Dr. Olajide has served as UNFPA Kenya Representative since July 2017. Previously he served as the Chief, Non-Core Funds Management Unit in the Office of the Executive Director, UNFPA headquarters in New York and as UNFPA Representative in Namibia. Previously, he served as the Head of Division, Health, Nutrition and Population African Union Commission in Ethiopia from 2011 to 2013. Dr. Olajide holds a Doctor of Medicine degree from University of Ibadan, Master’s in Business Administration degree from Federal University of Technology, Master of Public Health from the University of Ibadan and Master of Arts in International Relations from Benue State University.

Before joining UNISDR Regional Office for Africa, Mr. Abbashar headed the organization’s Regional Office for Arab States in Cairo, Egypt. Mr Abbashar began his United Nations career as a Programme Officer with the UNDP Emergency Unit in Sudan dealing with Operation Lifeline Sudan in the early 1990’s. Later he became Field Coordinator in the Department of Humanitarian Affairs during the Liberian war after which he was assigned as Deputy Head of OCHA in Sierra Leone. He joined OCHA’s headquarters in New York in 2000 as a Humanitarian Affairs Officer focusing on inter-governmental matters related to the Security Council, the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council.

Anna Mutavati is a human rights and social development expert with 20 years of experience in leadership and management, human rights, and gender equality programming. A lawyer by profession, Anna holds a Masters’ Degree in Women’s Law from the Southern and Eastern Regional Centre for Women’s Law (SEARCWL), University of Zimbabwe and a Degree in Law from the University of Zimbabwe. Prior to joining UN Women in Kenya, Anna was Deputy Representative and Head of Programmes at UN Women in Uganda for five years.

Mrs Carla Mucavi is the FAO Representative to Kenya as of November 1, 2020. Prior to this appointment, Mrs Mucavi worked as Director of FAO Liaison Office in New York from 2015. In this capacity,she represented the Organisation at the United Nations General Assembly, Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), as well as related Committees, functional Commissions, and Subsidiary Bodies, ensuring that FAO mandate and strategic priorities remain at the centre of the Global Agenda, due to its relevance for the attainment of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development. Mrs Mucavi is a career diplomat having served in different functions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Mozambique between 1989 and 2015. This includes the Division for International Organizations and Conferences; Division for Europe and North America and Latin America; as Deputy Director of State Protocol; and as Chief of Cabinet of the Ministerfor Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. She also served at the Embassy of Mozambique in Ethiopia. Between 2007 and 2015 she was Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Mozambique to Italy, Greece and Malta, and Permanent Representative to FAO, WFP and IFAD. A Mozambique national, Mrs Mucavi holds a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations from the Institute for Higher Studies in International Relations, Mozambique and a Master’s Degree in Cooperation and Development Planning from the University La Sapienza, Italy.

Capt. Muli joined the IMO from Maritime Administration in Kenya where his last appointment was the head of maritime safety. He previously served the disciplined forces where he served in different capacities, including as command of the Kenya Navy Ships. Capt. Muli holds a Master’s Degree in Maritime Transport from the World Maritime University, Malmo, Sweden and he is a holder of Master Mariner Certificate of Competency.

Dr. Eggers has held the position since 1st September 2016. He is a public health physician from South Africa, where he obtained his medical degree and post-graduate specialization in public health, epidemiology, disease control and health administration and financing from the University of Pretoria. In addition, he has postgraduate diplomas in health administration and financing and in occupational health. He previously served as WHO team leader for immunization systems strengthening in Geneva, Switzerland and as East Africa Inter-country Coordinator for Immunization. Before joining WHO in 1999, he was national immunization programme manager in South Africa, and worked as medical epidemiologist in the national Department of Health in South Africa.

Ms. Fathiaa Abdalla comes with three decades of experience having held senior leadership positions in UNHCR, UNICEF, Save the Children, OXFAM, and MSF, in HQ, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

Ms. Abdalla was appointed as Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Kenya on 13 February 2019. Prior to this she served as the UNHCR Representative to Afghanistan. Other senior positions she has held in UNHCR include: Deputy Representative for UNHCR in Iran and Yemen, and Head of Operations in Western Sahara.

Having served UNHCR since the year 2000 in various capacities both in Headquarters and the field Ms. Abdalla has managed diverse portfolios, provided able leadership and a practical, results-oriented approach in complex and demanding operations. She has built strong relationships with government interlocutors and others; consistently pursuing solutions in periods of political uncertainty and volatile security environments.

Ms. Abdalla was educated in Khartoum, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. She holds a M.Sc from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London University, United Kingdom.

Juliette over 20 years of experience in environmental projects and programmes management, having worked with a wide range of international organizations, including UNDP, Canadian Crossroads International and IUCN. She has served as Minister of Environment and Nature Protection for the Benin government. She holds an MSc. in Forestry Economics, a PhD. degree in Public Policy and Administration, and an expert diploma in Renewable Energy.

Ms. Landis has spent her career working in the field of relief and development. She began in 1985 working for OCHA (then UNDRO) in Geneva, Switzerland. She then took on assignments in Washington and in Africa working as a Disaster Operations Specialist and as an Emergency Operations Coordinator for the U.S. Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance within the Agency for International Development. From 1993 to 1995, she worked for InterAction, a coalition of U.S. based NGOs, as a Programme Officer. In 1995, Ms. Landis moved to Save the Children where she served for the next seven years in various assignments including Director of Humanitarian Response, and Director of the Food Security Unit.
In 2002, she took up the position of Director of the Office of Food for Peace within the U.S. Agency for International Development. Subsequently, Ms. Landis transitioned to the U.S. Department of State in 2006, where she served as the Senior Representative on Sudan.

Her returning to the UN in 2009, Ms. Landis served in Rome, Italy, for three years as Chief of Staff and Director of the Office of the Executive Director for the World Food Programme. She became the Director of the World Food Programme Geneva Office, from 2011 until 2013. From 2013 to 2016, Ms. Landis served as the WFP Country Representative and Director in Chad. In mid-2016, she returned to Rome, Italy to take up an appointment as WFP’s Director of Nutrition. In March 2020, Ms. Landis was appointed Representative and Country Director for the WFP Kenya Country Office. She arrived in Nairobi on 30 August 2020.

Maniza Zaman became UNICEF Kenya Representative in June 2019, coming in from the same position in Tanzania. where she was responsible for overseeing the UNICEF country programme, forging strategic partnerships and expanding UNICEF’s engagement in local governance and decentralization. She has also served UNICEF in New York, Vietnam and Ethiopia. Ms Zaman is a dual national of Bangladesh and the United Kingdom. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from University of Oxford, UK, and Master of Science degree from Cornell University, USA. She is married with two children.

Mark Majodina, the World Meteorological Organization Representative for Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA), took office on 1st September 2017. Prior to his appointment as the WMO Representative for Eastern and Southern Africa, Mr. Majodina served in the South African Weather Service for over 19 years in different capacities. He has also previously served in the Secretariat of the Meteorological Association of Southern Africa (MASA) and several technical committees of the WMO and its Executive Council. He also served as the Head of the WMO International Relations Advisers for the African region (RA1). Mr. Majodina graduated from the University of Pretoria with a Master of Science degree in Project Management. He also holds bachelor’s and Master of Science degrees in Ocean & Atmosphere Science from the University of Cape Town.

Prior to her appointment to in Kenya, Dr. Tsehaiu served for five years in the same position in Zambia and for three years in South Sudan. She has also served as Chief of Staff at the Federal Ministry of Health in Ethiopia, her country of birth. Medhin's professional career spans across research, academia, public health, management and development. She graduated with a PhD in Organic Chemistry from Eotvos Lorand University in Budapest, Hungary.

Amado was appointed UNODC Regional Representative for Eastern Africa in 2017. He previously served as Regional Representative for Central America and the Caribbean in Panama (covering all Central America, the Caribbean and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela). He has also previously worked for UNODC in Vienna, Senegal, Kosovo and in the Regional Section for Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. Mr. de Andrés has a PhD in Economics, a master’s degree in Public Administration a double bachelor’s degree in International Economics and International Relations from Hillsdale College, Michigan, USA. He is the author of a book titled The Balkans: Purgatory of Europe (published by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

Mr. Ega-Musa is an experienced communication and policy leader. During his career, he has had the opportunity to advise and work with the following world leaders: President Jimmy Carter, Koffi Anana, President Sahle-Wok Zewde (Ethiopia), President Olusegun Obassanjo (Nigeria), President Benjamin Mkapa (Tanzania) and Graca Michel (South Africa). Some of the key initiatives he has worked on include peace negations in Kenya after the 2008 political crisis as well as the Democratic Republic of Congo peace talks. In the private sector he helped Reebok develop an international corporate responsibility strategy. He has also worked for the United Nations and World Bank. During Mr. Ega-Musa’s long career, he has built, in Africa and the Middle East, a strong network of Government Officials, Diplomats, Aid Organizations, Journalists and Media Houses. He was educated at Wesleyan University and Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy. He has a masters degree from Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, Medford, MA.

Thomas Chiramba is currently a Senior Human Settlements Officer in the Regional Office for Africa of UN Habitat responsible for 12 Eastern and Southern African Countries. He holds a PhD in civil engineering and a master’s degree in architecture and has over 30 years of professional experience in urban development and management. He has previously worked for the City of Kwekwe in Zimbabwe as City Engineer before assuming advisory positions with USAID and GIZ of national urban development programmes in Zimbabwe and Namibia. He has also worked for UNDP and UNEP.

Mr. Chibebe was appointed the Country Director for ILO Office for Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi in 2018. Prior to that, he was Deputy Secretary General of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). His has been a steady growth, including working as apprentice fitter, then as mechanical engineering technician and on to become Secretary General of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Law from the University of South Africa.

Gemma Connell has been heads of the UN Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Regional Office for Southern and Eastern Africa since July 2017, overseeing service to 25 countries. She has worked with OCHA in South Sudan, Syria, Nigeria, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, Myanmar, the Philippines and Ukraine. Prior to joining OCHA, Gemma worked with the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza, where she organised – and participated in – the first ever marathon. Gemma began her career working on women’s rights and human rights with the UN and several small NGOs.

Sharon Dimanche assumed her role as the Chief of Mission of IOM Kenya from November 2019.

With a career spanning over 16 years, Sharon has led several IOM offices and operations to help address both short and long-term migration management challenges. She has worked with multiple IOM missions where she addressed irregular migration challenges, partnered with Governments for the implementation of the Global Compact for Migration, provided strategic direction in labor Migration and border management and led donor liaison and resource mobilization efforts in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Ethiopia, and Uganda.

Prior to joining IOM Kenya, Sharon held the position of the Deputy Chief of Mission (Development) at IOM Bangladesh. She also chaired the UN Migration Network in Bangladesh.

Ms. Dimanche holds a Master’s degree in International Relations and Diplomatic Studies (MAIRDS) and a Bachelor of Laws, LLB, (Hons), from Makerere University.

Mr. Victor DIWANDJA DJEMBA was designated as the Officer-in-Charge of the UNIDO Country Office to Kenya, Eritrea, South Sudan, Comoros and Seychelles. Prior to his current appointment, Mr. Djemba served as the UNIDO Representative in Senegal, covering Cabo-Verde, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania. Mr. Djemba is a graduate in Electromechanical engineering from the “Ecole Nationale Supérieure Polytechnique (ENSP)” of Yaoundé, Cameroon, and holds a Master’s in Industrial systems engineering and a Postgraduate Research Degree (DEA) in Industrial systems and innovation management from the “Institut National Polytechnique de Lorraine (INPL)”, France. He is also a Commonwealth Scholar from the University of Sussex in England, where he graduated with a Master's in Development economics.

Mr. Walid Badawi joined as UNDP Kenya Resident Representative in June 2019. He has served UNDP for over 20 years, with his last posting being UNDP Country Director in South Africa. He has previously worked in Indonesia and Egypt as well as in in the Regional Bureau for Arab States. Mr. Badawi holds a master’s degree in international management (Finance and Marketing) from the American Graduate School of International Management, Thunderbird, Campus, Glendale, Arizona and a B.A from Fordham University in Economics.

Mr. Chibebe was appointed the Country Director for ILO Office for Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi in 2018. Prior to that, he was Deputy Secretary General of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). His has been a steady growth, including working as apprentice fitter, then as mechanical engineering technician and on to become Secretary General of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Law from the University of South Africa.