NAIROBI, Kenya – Media personality and COTU Secretary-General Francis Atwoli’s wife, Mary Kilobi, has landed on a shortlist for a new government job and is set to appear before a selection panel next month.
In a notice dated May 20, Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee (IGRTC) selection panel chair Amos Gathega confirmed that applications for seven member positions had been reviewed, with a list of shortlisted candidates now released ahead of interviews.
“Pursuant to Section 11 of the Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee, the Selection Panel invited applications from suitably qualified persons for the position of Member (7 positions) of the Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee (IGRTC) in the media,” the statement read in part.
After sifting through the applications, the panel settled on a shortlist of candidates who will now face interviews scheduled for June 12 at the Kenya School of Government, Lower Kabete Campus in Nairobi.
Among those expected to walk into the interview room is Kilobi, a familiar face in Kenya’s media landscape, now stepping into the serious world of public administration and intergovernmental coordination.
The IGRTC role is no ceremonial seat. It sits at the heart of Kenya’s devolution machinery, tasked with ensuring the national government and the 47 counties actually speak to each other, cooperate, and avoid stepping on each other’s toes.
The role is a critical engine that tries to keep Kenya’s two levels of government from turning into rival camps.
For Kilobi, the shortlist adds another chapter to a career that has moved from newsroom lights to policy corridors.
Born on July 16, 1984, in Kavula village in Bungoma County, she trained in Literature and Kiswahili at Makerere University before earning a master’s degree in International Relations from the University of Nairobi.
She began her journalism journey at Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC), where she worked behind and in front of the camera as a producer, editor, and news anchor before crossing into Kenya’s media space.
At KTN, she became a recognisable Swahili news anchor and reporter, featuring in programmes such as KTN Leo Wikendi and various news bulletins, building a steady reputation in broadcast journalism.
Beyond the newsroom, Kilobi is also an author of the Kiswahili learning book Jifunze Kiswahili.
