Ruto bids farewell to UN Resident Coordinator Stephen Jackson
By Cynthia Lodite, March 31, 2026President William Ruto has bid farewell to the outgoing United Nations Resident Coordinator in Kenya, Stephen Jackson, as he wraps up his duty in Kenya.
In a statement on his official X account on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, Ruto expressed his gratitude for his service in Kenya, wishing him well as he embarks on his next assignment.
“Bid farewell to United Nations Resident Coordinator in Kenya Stephen Jackson, whose tour of duty has come to an end. Thanked him for his exemplary service and wished him well in his next assignment,” Ruto said.
At the same time, Ruto expressed pride in Kenya for hosting the only United Nations headquarters in Africa and the entire Global South, and it is the home of the UN Environmental Programme and UN-Habitat.
The head of state described Kenya’s relationship with the United Nations as strong and cordial, and that it is a proactive participant in the global organisation.
He went on to add that the UN has remained a steadfast ally of Kenya in green energy and financing, making clean water accessible and in support of refugees.
“As a proud Member State of the United Nations, Kenya has been proactive in contributing to peace-keeping missions across the world, leading members in climate action and being vocal advocates of the reform of the Security Council,” Ruto said.
Stephen recalls first night in Nairobi
Meanwhile, as President William Ruto bids farewell to Stephen Jackson, the Outgoing UN coordinator recently recounted his first night in Nairobi and how it shaped his career at the United Nations.
Speaking during a morning interview on Thursday, March 26, 2026, Jackson said he arrived as a student and backpacker in 1986, long before joining the UN.
“Got the bus up from Moshi; I was in Tanzania, came up to have a look, and that changed my life, genuinely,” he said.
Jackson stayed in a tenement on River Road with three friends.
“We made the mistake of saying to the taxi driver we needed somewhere cheap. We kind of meant cheap for a mzungu. He took us to cheap, yes… I seem to remember it was like 10 bob for the room, but it was 100 bob for the padlock. That was memorable,” he recalled, laughing.
He described the contrast between rural Tanzania and Nairobi.
“Moshi was villages, agricultural, rural. Then the bus dropped me off in front of what I didn’t know then, but was KICC. I had never seen a skyscraper before. Didn’t have any in Ireland. It blew my mind. I expected desert and zebra, and instead, already 40 years ago, this was a cosmopolitan global centre. And you could see where it was headed. That was what made me want to do this job.”