SDLP Foyleside Councillor Lilian Seenoi-Barr
She had already made history when she became the first black politician to be elected to any public office here in 2023.
On Monday, she will go one step further, becoming mayor of Derry city where she arrived in as a refugee 14 years ago.
It has been quite a journey from her native Narok in southern Kenya to Derry’s Guildhall.
When Ms Seenoi-Barr receives the mayoral chain of office from outgoing incumbent Councillor Patricia Logue, she will become the North’s first black mayor and only the third on the island of Ireland.
A delegation of Kenyan political representatives and Ms Seenoi-Barr’s four siblings will be present at the ceremony on Monday.
A fall-out over the mayoral selection process which led to two party colleagues – Shauna Cusack and Jason Barr -resigning and racist abuse including death threats followed the announcement of Ms Seenoi Barr being chosen for the role.
Ms Seenoi-Barr has been a councillor for the Foyleside ward since 2021 when she was co-opted by the SDLP before retaining her seat in the 2023 election.
Originally from Kenya, she previously worked to promote gender rights issues for Maasai women, focusing on forced marriage and female genital mutilation.
She came to Derry in 2010 with her son Brian and was granted refugee status.
In 2012, she founded the charity North West Migrants Forum which supports migrants and asylum seekers.
She was involved in organising the June 2020 Black Lives Matter protests in Guildhall Square.
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