President William Ruto has corrected the announced changes in the nation’s Cabinet, foreign service, and State corporations.
State House Spokesperson Hussein Mohammed clarified that the correct designation for the Ambassador-designate to Zimbabwe is Amb. Gertrude N. Angote, not Dorothy Angote as initially stated in the State House dispatch.
“Amb. Gertrude N. Angote, who has been serving as the Permanent Representative to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), has now been reassigned to Zimbabwe,” Mohammed said.
Angote was appointed as Permanent Representative to UNEP in May 2024.
This change means that former Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba has replaced her at UNEP.
Angote currently serves as the Project Coordinator for the International Labour Organization (ILO)-All Hands in Kenya Project, where she oversees improving compliance with International Labour Standards and Acceptable Conditions of Work.
The project, funded by the United States Department of Labor (USDOL) through the Office of Trade and Labor Affairs (OTLA), runs from December 2020 to December 2024.
With over 13 years of experience in national and international development, Angote has served in senior roles, including as a Senior-Level Legal Advisor, Legislative Drafter, and Programmes Manager with the ILO, UNDP, CSOs, and government development initiatives.
Prior to her current roles, Angote was the Executive Director of Kituo cha Sheria (Legal Advice Center) and a part-time lecturer at the Kenya School of Law. She also chaired the public interest, human rights, and legal aid committee of the Law Society of Kenya for four years and served on the governance council of the Council of Legal Education until 2017. Earlier, she worked with Human Rights Network-Uganda as a Human Rights Officer.
As an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya for 14 years, Angote has secured several landmark judgments, including the 2019 case of J. Mwongeli v S Ltd, where the Employment and Labour Relations Court awarded Ksh1.5 million in compensation for employment discrimination.
She has also represented 26 Somali mothers and children in a refugee case and contributed to a landmark decision granting prisoners in Kenya the right to vote.
Angote holds a master’s degree in law, Governance, and Democracy from the University of Nairobi, along with Post Graduate Diplomas from the Kenya School of Law and the University of Washington.
