Kenyan Maritime Expert Concedes Defeat for IMO Secretary General Post
By Maureen Mwangi
Kenya has lost the contest for the Secretary General position at the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
Kenya had nominated Amb Nancy Karigithu, who was also endorsed by the African Union (AU), to vie for the position against six other candidates. Amb Karigithu is a former Principal Secretary for the State Department of Shipping and Maritime Affairs. She is currently the Kenyan government’s special envoy for maritime and blue economy.
She boasts of 38 years of experience in the maritime sector, has been a great champion for climate change, multilateralism, diversity, collaboration and decarbonisation. Before she became PS, she was the Director General of the Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) where she served for nine years and currently sits on the Board of Governors of the World Maritime University (WMU), based in Malmo, Sweden.
IMO is a UN agency responsible for promoting safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine and atmospheric pollution by ships.
The contest was won by Arsenio Antonio Dominguez Velasco of the Republic of Panama, who will head the organisation for an initial four-year term to commence on January 1, 2024, subject to approval by the IMO Assembly. He was declared winner on July 18, 2023.
Velasco will replace Kitack Lim of South Korea, whose term lapses at the end of the year.
“The IMO Council has appointed Mr. Arsenio Antonio Dominguez of the Republic of Panama as the next Secretary General for an initial term of four years from 1 January 2024,” the UN’s top maritime agency stated.
Karigithu congratulated Velasco, promising to provide her full support during his term in office.
“I congratulate the elected candidate, Mr. Arsenio Antonio Dominguez Velasco and offer my full support and cooperation during his term in office. Let us remember that we are all on the same voyage, working towards a common destination,” she said.
If Karigithu won, she would have been the first African and woman to lead the international body since its establishment in 1958.
The other candidates were Moin Uddin Ahmed (Bangladesh), Suat Hayri Aka (Turkey), Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry (Dominica), Minna Kivimäki (Finland) and Zhang Xiaojie (China).
