Ababu Namwamba

Hon. Ababu Namwamba taking the oath of office as Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs before President Mwai Kibaki at Harambee House, Nairobi

Ababu Tawfiq Pius Namwamba E.G.H. is a Kenyan politician and former Cabinet Secretary for Youth Affairs, Sports and the Arts, having been appointed by President William Ruto. He is an international lawyer trained in Nairobi and Washington, DC. Since 2016 he has been the leader of the Labour Party of Kenya. Namwamba is also the immediate Former Chief Administrative Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kenya. He serves as Kenya's High Commissioner to the Republic of Uganda, having been appointed by Ruto on January 21, 2026. Prior to this appointment, Namwamba was serving as Kenya's Permanent Representative to UNEP.

Biography Ababu Namwamba was born in Jinja, Uganda to Kenyan parents on 23 December 1975, and raised in Uganda and later Kenya. He calls the foundation his ‘payback’ to Kenya, himself a beneficiary of a Jomo Kenyatta Foundation scholarship in high school. The foundation offers scholarships to bright students from economically challenged backgrounds, runs a mentorship program for students, supports development of sporting talents and works with women and youth groups on income-generating activities.

Political career Namwamba was first elected to parliament in the 2007 Kenyan parliamentary election as a member of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), representing Budalang'i Constituency in the National Assembly of Kenya. He was Parliamentary Secretary of the ODM from 2008 to 2013, and served as Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs from 2012 until the ODM lost office in the 2013 election.

In 2016, Namwamba quit ODM where he was serving as secretary general. He felt that Raila Odinga, the party leader who had stood for the presidency twice, was no longer capable of convincing voters to support him. He joined the newly relaunched Labour Party of Kenya, and since September 2016 he has been the leader of the Labour Party. In March 2017 the Labour Party announced that it would support the presidential candidacy of Uhuru Kenyatta in the election of August 2017. Namwamba lost his Budalang'i seat in that election.

In January 2018, Namwamba was nominated to the position of Chief Administrative Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was sworn into office in March 2018.

Personal life Namwamba is a supporter of English Premier League club Arsenal F.C..