Karigithu sails to final shortlist in maritime top post selections

Special Envoy Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs Dr Nancy Karigithu. [Robert Menza, Standard]

Kenya's Dr Nancy Karigithu has made it to the final list of seven candidates eyeing the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary General post.

The former State Department for Shipping and Maritime Affairs Principal Secretary (PS) will square off with six competitors namely; Moin Uddin Ahmed (Bangladesh), Suat Hayri Aka (Turkiye), Arsenio Antonio Dominguez Velasco (Panama), Dr Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry (Dominica), Minna Kivimaki (Finland) and Zhang Xiaojie of China.

The winner will replace outgoing IMO Secretary General, Kitack Lim from the Republic of Korea, whose term expires on December 31, 2023. Yesterday, IMO said in a communique that nominations for the new IMO Secretary General were successfully received by the deadline.

Meanwhile, the Seafarers Union of Kenya (SUK) Secretary General, Steve Owaki, has urged for more home-based support for Dr Karigithu to ensure she bags the coveted post.

"A win for her will be a win for Kenya and the rest of the African continent. It is Africa's time to lead and we have given Dr Karigithu to the world," Owaki said in Mombasa.

The IMO Council, at its 128th session in December 2022, approved the procedures for holding the election of the Secretary General at the July 2023 session of the Council (C129).

The election will take place at IMO Headquarters in London on July 18 and later the decision of the Council be submitted to the 33rd session of the IMO Assembly in late 2023 for approval of the appointment before the Secretary General elect assumes office on January 1, 2024.

Dr Karigithu is a renowned maritime expert who has honed her skills as a short-term legal expert for the European Union Critical Maritime Routes project.

She holds a Bachelor's degree in law from the University of Nairobi and a master's degree in International Maritime Law from the IMO International Maritime Law Institute, Malta.

Karigithu was the director general of Kenya Maritime Authority where she served for nine years, and currently sits on the Board of Governors of the World Maritime University based in Malmo, Sweden.

She has a working experience of 30 years, 26 of them in the maritime industry. Earlier, she worked as a State counsel in the office of the Attorney General and served as a senior legal officer at the Kenya Ports Authority where she rose to the post of acting assistant corporation secretary.

She was feted for her distinguished service in the maritime sector by the World Maritime University on November 3, 2019.

Her candidature has been endorsed by President William Ruto and retired President Uhuru Kenyatta as well as the African Union.