Lilian Seenoi-Barr has made history after becoming Northern Ireland’s first black mayor, and only the third on the island of Ireland.
She was installed as mayor of Derry City and Strabane at a special council meeting on Monday evening.
Ms Seenoi-Barr, who arrived in Londonderry 14 years ago as a refugee from Kenya, said it was an honour to become first citizen.
A crowd of about 300 people assembled inside the Guildhall to watch Ms Seenoi-Barr receive the mayoral chain of office.
Among those in attendance were family and friends of Ms Seenoi-Barr, a delegation of Kenyan political representatives and members from various ethnic minority groups from across the island of Ireland.
Separately, the new lord mayor of Belfast is Councillor Micky Murray, who describes himself as the first “openly gay” first citizen of the city.
Mr Murray, from the Alliance Party, said it was “an important milestone for my community.”
Who is Lilian Seenoi Barr?
Ms Seenoi-Barr had already made history last year when she became the first black politician to be elected to any public office in Northern Ireland.
She retained her seat in the Foyleside ward with a victory in the 2023 election.
She came to Derry in 2010 with her son Brian and was granted refugee status.
Prior to that, her work in her native Kenya involved helping women and girls from the Massai tribe challenge the traditional tribal practices of early marriage and female genital mutilation.
It was work, she said, that came with “a lot of risk”.
Ms Seenoi-Barr’s son, Brian, has autism. She said, as his mother, she was concerned by the “many misconceptions and negative beliefs” around the condition in Africa.
That, coupled with the threats she had received, prompted Ms Seenoi Barr to leave Kenya.
Her experience as a refugee led her to set up her own charity, the North West Migrants Forum, in 2012 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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