Former Kenya Permanent Representative to the United Nations Martin Kimani has been appointed Assistant Secretary-General for Africa in the United Nations Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced the appointment on September 14, 2026, placing the seasoned Kenyan diplomat in one of the organization’s most senior leadership roles on African affairs.
Kimani succeeds Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee of Ghana, whom Guterres thanked for her dedication and service to the United Nations.
The appointment marks another milestone in Kimani’s diplomatic career, which has seen him serve in key positions within Kenya’s government, regional organizations and the United Nations system.
Martin Kimani Lands Top Job
According to the UN, Kimani brings more than two decades of experience in governance, peace and security issues to the role.
He most recently served as President and Chief Executive Officer of The Africa Center in New York, a position he assumed in April 2025.
Before that, Kimani represented Kenya at the United Nations in New York from 2020 to 2024, where he gained international recognition for his speeches and diplomatic engagements on global peace and security.
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Before his UN posting, he served as Kenya’s Special Envoy for Countering Violent Extremism and also headed the National Counter Terrorism Center.
Kimani has also worked with regional organizations on conflict prevention and peacebuilding initiatives.
Between 2011 and 2012, he served as Director of the Conflict Early Warning and Response Mechanism at the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), where he helped prevent and manage conflicts in the Horn of Africa.
Earlier in his career, he worked with the United Nations Environment Program and the United Nations Human Settlements Program in Nairobi.
He has also served as an associate fellow at King’s College London’s Conflict, Security and Development Group.
Kimani holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of New Hampshire in the United States and a Master’s degree and PhD in War Studies from King’s College London.
As Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, Martin Kimani will oversee political affairs, conflict prevention, mediation, and peacebuilding initiatives across the continent within the UN system.
The role is central to the organization’s efforts to support peace processes, strengthen political stability and address emerging security challenges in Africa.
Kimani’s academic background is rooted in the study of conflict, politics and diplomacy.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from the University of New Hampshire in 1996 before proceeding to King’s College London, where he obtained a Master’s degree in War Studies in 2003 and completed a PhD in the same field in 2010.
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His doctoral thesis examined the 1994 Rwanda genocide, exploring how religion, race, colonialism, and ethnic politics contributed to one of Africa’s worst episodes of mass violence.
Kimani’s Famous Ukraine Speech
In February 2022, Martin Kimani, then Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, gave a well-received speech to the UN Security Council at an emergency session concerning Russia’s recognition of the self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk republics in eastern Ukraine.
Drawing on Africa’s colonial history, he noted that ‘almost every African country was birthed by the ending of empire’.
He further argued that despite inheriting borders that divided ethnic, cultural and historical communities, African states chose to respect them after independence to avoid endless conflict.
Ambassador Martin Kimani warned against attempts to redraw international borders by force, saying such actions threatened global peace and stability.
Delivered three days before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the speech was widely praised by diplomats, scholars and international media for its defense of sovereignty, territorial integrity and international law.
The address elevated Kimani’s global profile and remains one of the defining moments of his diplomatic career.
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