Former Kenyan envoy to Ethiopia and Somalia, Ambassador Yvonne Khamati, is eyeing the Ikolomani Parliamentary seat.
Amb. Khamati, who turned 40 on January 9th, 2022, is seeking to replace Bernard Shinali as Ikolomani MP in the coming General election.
The decorated diplomat is among the several leaders in Western Kenya who will be vying on Democratic Action Party of Kenya (DAP-K).
According to her communication team, the mother of two, has given priority to food security, health, education as well as Youth and Women empowerment once elected.
TEENAGE MP
In 2001, at the age of 19, she was elected to serve as the Deputy Organizing Secretary of the Forum for the Restoration of Democracy – Kenya (Ford Kenya) political party, a position she kept until 2006.
She was later nominated by the party to the East African Legislative Assembly in Arusha making her the youngest MP to be nominated to the house.
From August 2003 until March 2006, she was a research fellow at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), working in the Sustainable Development and Food Policy Division.
INTERNATIONAL ASSIGNMENTS
From April 2003 until January 2008, she was Appointed by Nigeria’s President Obasanjo to serve as the Chairperson of the Youth Technical Committee for NEPAD.
In January 2008, her diplomatic career began when she was appointed by President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya Ambassador and DPR to Ethiopia and the African Union.
Ambassador Khamati later became Deputy Permanent Representative of Kenya at the United Nations office in Nairobi, Kenya, working in that capacity until September 2012.
In 2012, she was transferred to Kenya’s Embassy in Mogadishu, Somalia, as the Deputy Ambassador. She has served as Director FS in the Liaison Parliamentary and Senate Directorate at the Foreign Ministry HQ, Chairperson of the Committee of Permanent Representatives of UN HABITAT, Rapporteur of the African Diplomatic Corp and was Director FS in the Directorate of International Conferences and Events at the Foreign Ministry.
The trained criminologist, who is married to a Nigerian, also served as the C.E.O of the Kenya National Heroes Council, a parastatal under the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Heritage before.
She is currently the Director of Afrintel (Africa Intelligence), a continental consultancy firm.’