Raychelle Awuor Omamo (born July 1962) is a Kenyan

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

and diplomat and former Cabinet Minister. She is an

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...

of the High Court of Kenya. From 2020 to 2022, she was the Kenyan Foreign Affairs Minister.

Early life and education

Omamo is a daughter to the late cabinet minister William Odongo Omamo. She studied law at the

University of Kent The University of Kent (formerly the University of Kent at Canterbury, abbreviated as UKC) is a Collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom. The university was granted its roya ...

at Canterbury, UK.

Early career

Omamo began her career as a lawyer in private practice and was the first female Chairperson of Law Society of Kenya from 2001 to 2003 after serving as a Council member. She was conferred with the rank and privilege of Senior Counsel in 2012. She was a member of the Task Force on the Establishment of the Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission for Kenya. Omamo was Kenya's first female ambassador to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

with accreditation to Spain,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, The Holy See and Serbia as well as the Permanent Delegate of the Kenya to

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

Political career

Omamo served as the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs. Previously, she served as the Cabinet Secretary for Defence for 7 years in the

Uhuru Kenyatta Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta ( born 26 October 1961) is a Kenyan politician who served as the fourth president of Kenya from 2013 to 2022. The son of Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya's first president, he previously served as Prime Minister of Kenya, Deputy Pri ...

administration, the first female in the country to hold the post. She also served as the Acting Cabinet Secretary for Labour and Social Services in 2014. In 2022, Omamo was nominated as Kenya's candidate to succeed

Gilbert Houngbo Gilbert Fossoun Houngbo (born 4 February 1961) is a Togolese politician and diplomat who was Prime Minister of Togo from September 2008 to July 2012.

as president of the

International Fund for Agricultural Development The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is an international financial institution and a specialised agency of the United Nations that works to address poverty and hunger in rural areas of developing countries. It is the on ...

(IFAD); she ultimately lost out against Alvaro Lario.

Podcast

Omamo's podcast - The Power Panel Podcast - was launched in 2024 under the umbrella of her organization Bird Song Africa Productions Limited. Bird Song Africa Productions Limited is dedicated to the amplification of the voices of African women trail-blazers to share, inspire and encourage the next generation of African women leaders.

Other activities

Munich Security Conference The Munich Security Conference (MSC), formerly Munich Conference on Security Policy, is an annual conference on international security policy that has been held in Munich, Germany, since 1963. Over the past four decades the Munich Security Con ...

, Member of the Advisory Council (since 2023) * Amref Flying Doctors, Member of the Board of DirectorsBoard of Directors
Amref Flying Doctors.

References

Alumni of the University of Kent 20th-century Kenyan lawyers Ambassadors of Kenya to France Ambassadors of Kenya to Portugal Ambassadors of Kenya to the Holy See Ambassadors of Kenya to Serbia Kenyan women ambassadors Ministers for foreign affairs of Kenya Defense ministers of Kenya Living people Women government ministers of Kenya Female defence ministers 21st-century Kenyan women politicians 21st-century Kenyan politicians 1952 births Female foreign ministers 21st-century Kenyan lawyers 20th-century Kenyan women lawyers 21st-century Kenyan women lawyers {{Kenya-politician-stub