Kenyan-Born Lilian Seenoi-Barr Becomes First Black Person to Occupy Public Office in Northern Ireland

Kenyan-Born Lilian Seenoi-Barr has made history as the first black person to be elected to a public office in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. 

As reported by Irish media outlet RTE, Barr won the May 20 elections with 15.5% of all votes cast to become part of Derry and Strabane City Council. Representing the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), Councillor Barr thanked the people for electing her. In 2019, Barr was unsuccessful in her bid for the councillor position. The SDLP then welcomed her onto the council two years later and nominated her to compete for the seat. 

“I’m beyond delighted to have gained nearly 1,000 first preferences and to now have an electoral mandate in my own right. When I joined Derry City and Strabane District Council just under two years ago, I had been chosen by the SDLP members. At the time, I made a commitment that I would work tirelessly to earn people’s trust and deliver for the local area,” said Barr. 

She is celebrated in Northern Ireland for establishing the North West Migrants Forum in 2012, an organization that supports minority groups, migrants, and those seeking asylum. Barr is of Maasai origin from Narok, Kenya and arrived in Northern Ireland as a refugee in 2010. Through NWMF she has helped thousands of people like herself.

She endeavoured to defend the rights of Maasai women and girls by opposing Female Genital Mutilation and child marriages while in Kenya. Besides Barr, there have been several Kenyans elected into venerated positions outside the country. Recently, Kenyans were elated to learn that British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has Kenyan lineage.

At the Coronation of King Charles III, Sunak stated that he was born in Britain yet his father, Yashvir Sunak, was born in Kenya and his mother Usha Sunak in Tanzania. In March 2021, Humza Haroon Yousaf from Kenya triumphed in the Scottish National Party leadership race and became Scotland’s First Minister.