Nairobi — The widow of the ODM Leader Raila Odinga has welcomed her nomination as a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) envoy by President William Ruto.

Ida termed the nomination as a great honour following the death of her husband.

Ruto's Chief of Staff on Friday, announced that the President has formally transmitted the nomination to the National Assembly for consideration and approval, in line with constitutional requirements governing appointments to the Foreign Service.

Koskei described Mama Ida, as she is popularly known, as a distinguished educationist, civic leader and advocate for social justice and gender equity.

She began her career as a graduate teacher at Highway Secondary School in Nairobi before later teaching at Kenya High School, where she spent more than a decade in the classroom.

The Head of Public Service noted that Mama Ida's life's work has been marked by a commitment to advancing women's education and empowerment, as well as standing against authoritarianism and injustice, promoting freedom of expression and championing gender equity.

"In the early 1990s, amid the national clamour to transition from a single-party State to a multiparty democracy, she played a key role in advancing calls for change and democratic reform as the founding Chairperson of the League of Kenya Women Voters," noted Koskei.