This Kenyan Refugee Woman Has Made History As The First Black Mayor In Northern Ireland
42-year-old Lilian Seenoi-Barr had been campaigning for an end to forced marriage and female genital mutilation – or FGM – for Massai women in Kenya.
This Kenyan woman refugee has made history as the first Black mayor in Northern Ireland.
42-year-old Lilian Seenoi-Barr arrived in Northern Ireland with her son in 2010 as a refugee from Kenya.
In Kenya, she had been campaigning for an end to forced marriage and female genital mutilation – or FGM – for Massai women.
But she was forced to leave the country with her son, who has autism, due to threats to their safety because of her work.
In Northern Ireland, she set up a charity to support migrants and asylum seekers and organized protests for Black Lives Matter.
In 2023, she became the first Black politician to be elected to public office in Northern Ireland.
And in April 2024, she was appointed as the mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council.
After the announcement, she was subject to racial abuse, but said it only made her more determined to take on the role to fight for representation and a more inclusive and progressive society.
On June 3, Seenoi-Barr was sworn in as the mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council.
Seenoi-Barr said she was proud to be a “Maasai woman and a Derry girl”, adding that she will work for every single person in the city regardless of their religion, ethnicity or background.
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