Abdul Noormohamed is the new Omidyar’s Luminate African Director

NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 23- Abdul Noormohamed is the new African Director at Luminate- a philanthropic arm of the Omidyar Network.

In an announcement made by the Kenya Section of International Commission of Jurist (ICJ-Kenya) Abdul’s tenure at the organization where he has been the Executive Director ends on December 31, 2020.

“Since joining ICJ Kenya on August 1, 2019, Abdul has played a pivotal role in spearheading ICJ Kenya’s 2021-2024 strategic plan development process. He has helped to recalibrate and streamline the organization’s operations, deepening our strategic partnerships, among many other notable accomplishments,” Kelvin Mogeni, ICJ-Kenya Chairman said in a letter addressed to partners and the organization’s members.

“The ICJ Kenya Council sincerely thanks Abdul for his dedication and commitment towards our vision and mission. ICJ Kenya and wishes him the very best in his new endeavor as the Africa Director at Luminate,” he added.

In the interim, the organization appointed Elsy C. Sainna as the Acting Executive Director starting January 1, 2021, until the position is filled substantially.

“Elsy has served at the ICJ Kenya Secretariat in various leadership capacities. She possesses experience and skills in leadership, management, strategy, programme and project design, in-depth knowledge in public international law, human rights, gender studies, constitutional, and policy reform,” Mogeni said.

Abdul an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya joined ICJ Kenya from the Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa (OSIEA), Nairobi Kenya, bringing a wealth of human rights expertise, leadership, management, innovative strategy development and litigation skills.

He is solidly grounded in policy, advocacy and research as well an expert on international justice, security and human rights.

He has years of experience in the protection of human rights defenders at risk and civic space across eastern Africa, as well worked on accountability for crimes against humanity in the region.

Prior to joining OSIEA Abdul worked at the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNHCR) where he headed the Redress and Legal Department for five years.

Abdul holds a Master of Laws (LLM) in Public International Law, from the University College of London (UCL), a Bachelor of Law (LLB) Honors from the University of Nairobi and a Chevening Alumni.

He has vast training in Human Rights Litigation from Central European University, Creative Activism, Effective Financial Management, Learning to Lead, Transitional Justice, Human Rights Training amongst others.

Luminate was established in 2018, as a governance and citizen engagement initiative at Omidyar Network to build just and fair societies.

The organization supports and funds institutions and advocates for policies and actions that will promote public participation to help people hold their governments transparent, responsive and accountable.

They also promote independent media, financial transparency, civic empowerment, data and digital rights to build strong societies.

So far work has supported 296 organizations, in 17 countries with over $378 million (Sh41.5 billion) in funding.