Mudavadi welcomes UAE candidate for UN chief, but PS Sing'oei says Kenya backs no one yet
The two foreign affairs statements came a day apart, as the race to succeed UN Secretary-General António Guterres gets under way.
Based on 2 sources, listed at the end of this story.
A conference room at the United Nations complex in Nairobi. File photo, 2025. Photo: BugWarp / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Kenya's foreign affairs ministry has given two different messages on the race for the next United Nations Secretary-General. On Monday evening, Prime Cabinet Secretary and Foreign Affairs CS Musalia Mudavadi welcomed the candidacy of Emirati diplomat Lana Nusseibeh. On Tuesday morning, Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing'oei said Kenya had not expressed support for any candidate.
Mudavadi's office said he was speaking on behalf of Kenya. He cited Nusseibeh's experience in multilateral diplomacy and said Kenya looks forward to working with her. Sing'oei said the government was still following the campaigns and weighing the candidates.
Reports that Kenya had backed Nusseibeh began circulating on Monday, days after President William Ruto hosted a senior diplomat from Abu Dhabi in Nairobi. Uganda's Olara Otunnu is also seeking the post.
Guterres leaves office on 31 December 2026 after two five-year terms, and his successor is expected to take over in January 2027. Under the UN Charter, the General Assembly appoints the Secretary-General on the recommendation of the Security Council.
