Kenya’s John Omo Re-Elected Secretary General of African Telecommunications Union

Mr. John Omo takes oath of office upon re-election as Secretary General of the African Telecommunications Union (ATU) for a second term on Tuesday.

Kenya’s Mr. John Omo has been re-elected as the Secretary General of the African Telecommunications Union (ATU) for the second and final term.

Mr. Omo sailed through unopposed at the 6th ATU Conference of Plenipotentiaries in Algiers, Algeria on Tuesday evening after his sole challenger Mr. Mohamed Ahmed Ould Abderrahmane of Mauritania withdrew from the race.

Kenya’s delegation to the event was led by Ms. Esther Koimett, the Principal Secretary for Broadcasting and Telecommunications, CA’s Director General Mr. Ezra Chiloba, and Kenya’s envoy to Algeria Amb. Peter Katana Angore.

Earlier at a campaign reception hosted by Kenya, Ms. Koimett said the African ICT landscape had gained immensely under Mr. Omo’s stewardship, particularly in enhancing the ATU financial stability and value proposition to member states.

During his tenure, he expanded the Union’s membership, with four (4) additional countries joining the ATU as well as 16 new Associate Members drawn from operators in the ICT industry, academia, technology companies, and equipment manufacturers.

She added that going by Mr. Omo’s stellar track record, he was best suited to steer the continental ICT body to fully leverage the benefits of the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) as well as playing an active role in the global digital economy.

‘‘Kenya strongly believes Mr. Omo represents the best of our continent and has the courage, and the drive to steer Africa in confronting the pressing challenges of our time; meaningful access, affordability, and inclusivity of ICTs,’’ said Ms. Koimett.

For his second term, Mr. Omo has focused on a 5-point agenda of bridging the digital divide, tackling cyber security challenges, fostering inclusive ICT growth, steering the ATU as a member-focused organization and positioning ATU as a responsive ICT institution.

Kenya was also re-elected to the Administrative Council, one of ATU’s key decision-making organs.

Mr. Omo effectively becomes the first Kenyan to serve two terms at the helm of the ATU after Eng. Jan Mutai who served for a term from 1999 to 2003.